How to Get Your Financial Life On Track

For a decade, I was in the 5%—the rare financial enthusiast who tracked every single dollar in a detail-oriented personal finance tool. My rows and rows of data were glorious. But this isn’t a humblebrag. After a decade of tracking everything, I spent years tracking almost nothing. 

I’d like to share my personal financial evolution. It’s the journey that took me from the extreme 5% tracker to being part of the 95% who find traditional budgeting restrictive, tedious, and unsustainable and who understand that financial wellness is about more than budgeting.

There’s more than one way to get your financial life on track.

Why I Tracked Every Dollar What Worked For Me

In high school my mom co-signed on a credit card with me, taught me some credit card basics (“Never just pay the minimum balance.”), and introduced me to Quicken – the go-to personal finance software at the time. I worked (babysitting and concessions at college sporting events) and even though my finances were dead simple, it was cool to see what I was making and spending. Using Quicken did a few things: It got me familiar with balancing a checking account, tracking my credit card, and reinforced the savings habit. 

In college, my finances were a little more complex. I had student loans, apartment rent, and was buying all my own groceries. The detailed tracking habit I developed in high school proved useful. It helped ensure I wasn’t going into any more debt during college than I had to.

After graduating I moved across the country without a job lined up. The shock of “adulting” was real. I worked a lot and was able to pay my essentials. But in many months, I barely earned more than I spent. Splurging on a night out or buying a few extras could easily be the difference between making progress and falling backward. Life wasn’t glamorous. But my detailed financial tracking kept my stress low because I always knew exactly where I stood. 

What Changed

As my income grew and I kept my spending in check, I eventually built a solid emergency fund. I was no longer in the position where a few extra nights out, or even outfitting myself with a bunch of ski gear (I was in Colorado now and certain things were important to me) made much of a difference. Some months I saved a little more, some months I saved a little less. But I was always saving and felt fortunate my income supported this. One day it hit me: I’m not getting a lot of value from detailed tracking. So I stopped.

And everything was fine. Life continued much as it had before.

Life Gets More Complex

As my savings grew and I developed a desire to put down roots, I bought a house. Not long after I met the woman who would become my wife. We shared our dreams about pets, travel, kids, and even retirement. It wasn’t long before we were married. Life was full and wonderful. And…nagging thoughts kept creeping into my mind: If we want to accomplish our dreams, are we making the right financial moves? Are we on track? How can we make this simple?

Just looking at the balances in our accounts a few times a month no longer felt like enough. I needed a complete and clear view of our family finances. I wanted to:

• Confirm our investments were on track.
• Budget quickly and easily with whatever the “right level” of detail was for us.
• Discover blind spots and ensure we were making the right financial moves.
• Follow an efficient, effective, and meaningful financial routine that keeps us on the same page.

MoneySwell – A Platform Designed to Evolve With You

The trouble I had with Quicken and other personal finance tools I tried was that they weren’t holistic. They felt more like accounting tools than a personal finance platform. They didn’t help you build routine. They nudged you into tracking every dollar in ways that simply aren’t sustainable for most people. And they didn’t integrate the educational content that’s essential to making lasting financial progress. 

Long story short, I built a tool that would accomplish all of these goals and more. First in a spreadsheet and then, with the help of Erik, in a web app.  

We wanted a product that works whether someone wants an incredibly detailed budget or just a tool to track the basics. We wanted a product that would provide the right financial education at the right time in a person’s financial journey. We wanted a product that would help people see the forest for the trees in their financial lives and understand the difference between the two. 

I now spend about 15 minutes a month managing our finances. My wife and I are on the same page and despite life’s expenses and complexities. And even after leaving the corporate world to build this business, our financial stress is kept in check because of MoneySwell.

That’s my story. At MoneySwell, we strive to be honest with our experience while acknowledging it comes from a place of relative privilege. 

We understand that everyone’s situation and history is different. You are likely to have different obstacles to overcome. But the platform we built aims to be universal and meet you where you are.

If you’re curious if it might work for you, sign up for a free trial. If you’re not ready for that, check out this four email series showing how MoneySwell can help you Grow Your Money, Budget Better, Get Financial Clarity, and Master Money Habits.