Whats budgeting got to do with Bank Accounts?

Jami74

subjecttocontract said:

I wonder if one of the reasons people get into debt is the cashless lifestyle that many lead.

When I started budgeting properly and looking after my finances I switched completely to cashless. I found it much harder to track spends when it involved withdrawing £10 from the ATM, checking I was given the right amount of change, making sure I took those pennies back out with me next time I went to the shops to spend them and keeping hold of the receipt. When using cash, I'd often have no idea when I got my statement what all those ATM withdrawals had been spent on. Once everything was paid for by card there were no longer lost pennies and receipts didn't matter anymore because it was all in the app.

[Deleted User]

Budgeting is in my head when i'm thinking about my current account, so for me the title makes perfect sense - it's all horses-for-courses, totally subjective.
Many prefer cash because their brains can compute their spending.
Others have a different approach and their device is their brain.

subjecttocontract

I don't have a smart phone, I just have a very basic mobile and I don't use apps. I operate on paper receipts which I normally get every time I make a transaction. Occasionally I don't get a paper receipt and don't think to ask for one which kinda messes up my record keeping. 

friolento

subjecttocontract said:

I don't have a smart phone, I just have a very basic mobile and I don't use apps. I operate on paper receipts which I normally get every time I make a transaction. Occasionally I don't get a paper receipt and don't think to ask for one which kinda messes up my record keeping. 

Even if you decide not to upgrade to smartphone or tablet, you could still use your online credit card transaction list for a complete record of all your credit card purchases 

Freebird53

Whilst it gives me a warm glow, to be the grain of sand around which this pearl of discussion has formed, it appears this thread has been de-railed somewhat, and the thrust of my point has been lost.

A bank account is not required for budgeting, it it simply a tool which can be used, along with a caluculator, and and a modicum of common sense.

In my view, 'Banking' should be seperate from budgeting, and encompass the different types of accounts available, their T&C's etc.

The agrgument put forward that they use their bank account to budget? Why not include Mortgages, Saving & Investments. They are all related to banking. These were my thoughts anyway. As I attemped to point out, the main site does not correlate with the forum in that respect. And in my view, doesn't make sense. It's nice to see that at least 1 person agrees with me!

subjecttocontract

That's all very well and I would agree but this section includes budgetting, so that's why it's being discussed.

friolento

Freebird53 said:

I was just wondering, as these 2 disparate entities seem to me to make stange bedfellows with regards to navigating this forum to find what you're looking for.

Further, the Main site says 'Banking & Saving'. That makes perfect sense. They go together. Then, I would expect to see a sub-heading for each. 'Bank Accounts' 'Savings & Investments'.

I post this today, as attemping to find something on the forums, I found it a challenge.

Perhaps I was led astray by the Black Sheep.

I agree that the Forum search can be challenging. Have you tried Google Advanced Search instead? In my experience, it magically finds anything on the Forum, regardless of how the Forum is organised https://www.google.co.uk/advanced_search?gfe_rd=mr&pli=1

Eco_Miser

friolento said:

subjecttocontract said:

I don't have a smart phone, I just have a very basic mobile and I don't use apps. I operate on paper receipts which I normally get every time I make a transaction. Occasionally I don't get a paper receipt and don't think to ask for one which kinda messes up my record keeping. 

Even if you decide not to upgrade to smartphone or tablet, you could still use your online credit card transaction list for a complete record of all your credit card purchases 

My online credit card transaction list does not give me a complete record of all my credit card purchases. It's got the dates, the amounts, the name of the payee (which is not always the same as the displayed name of the place I made the purchase) and a location (which is not always the location of the place I made the purchase). There is absolutely no indication of what I actually bought. Fortunately, I keep my own records of spending, whether credit card, debit card, or cash.

friolento

Eco_Miser said:

friolento said:

subjecttocontract said:

I don't have a smart phone, I just have a very basic mobile and I don't use apps. I operate on paper receipts which I normally get every time I make a transaction. Occasionally I don't get a paper receipt and don't think to ask for one which kinda messes up my record keeping. 

Even if you decide not to upgrade to smartphone or tablet, you could still use your online credit card transaction list for a complete record of all your credit card purchases 

My online credit card transaction list does not give me a complete record of all my credit card purchases. It's got the dates, the amounts, the name of the payee (which is not always the same as the displayed name of the place I made the purchase) and a location (which is not always the location of the place I made the purchase). There is absolutely no indication of what I actually bought. Fortunately, I keep my own records of spending, whether credit card, debit card, or cash.

Not much different to  paper receipts, which is what the original 'complaint' was about. It's not as if each paper receipt actually always give you the precise details. Not that paper receipts are available everywhere. You try to get one from your local market trader.......

Eco_Miser

friolento said:

Eco_Miser said:

friolento said:

subjecttocontract said:

I don't have a smart phone, I just have a very basic mobile and I don't use apps. I operate on paper receipts which I normally get every time I make a transaction. Occasionally I don't get a paper receipt and don't think to ask for one which kinda messes up my record keeping. 

Even if you decide not to upgrade to smartphone or tablet, you could still use your online credit card transaction list for a complete record of all your credit card purchases 

My online credit card transaction list does not give me a complete record of all my credit card purchases. It's got the dates, the amounts, the name of the payee (which is not always the same as the displayed name of the place I made the purchase) and a location (which is not always the location of the place I made the purchase). There is absolutely no indication of what I actually bought. Fortunately, I keep my own records of spending, whether credit card, debit card, or cash.

Not much different to  paper receipts, which is what the original 'complaint' was about. It's not as if each paper receipt actually always give you the precise details. Not that paper receipts are available everywhere. You try to get one from your local market trader.......

Some paper receipts are just confirmation of the card transaction (and I have occasionally got one from a market trader), others detail every single item purchased, which I find useful for record keeping and bill-splitting.

For cash purchases without a receipt, I usually reconcile my cash-in-hand often enough to be able to remember what I spent the difference on.