29 March 2025, we do not receive compensation for any “products” mentioned.

The one thing decluttering our household possessions has shown us is there are so many other areas in our life that can use some decluttering or simplification. I am not a financial expert by any means. This is just a review of what has worked for us over the years, especially now that about half our expenditure categories can vary widely. Thankfully, we have a consistent income from month to month.

Financial decluttering to us means less monthly payments to various places, decreasing the amount of time we need to deal with finances, and of course, reducing/eliminating any outstanding debt.  

How do we decrease the amount of time?

• Bill Autopay – These are monthly expenses that do not vary in amount from month to month like TV service, internet, cell phones. Since other monthly expenses vary, I prefer to handle those (gas, water, and electric for example).
• Online bill pay and Zelle over writing and mailing checks – this also saves money with no postage used! While there are security risks associated with online payments, it seems more “secure” than putting the check in the mail and hoping it arrives on time.
• Reduce Paper Documents – we don’t save many paper documents. IF I need to save a copy for tax purposes, I scan it and save it to my Google drive. Now I don’t need to rifle through piles of papers.
• Use Google Sheets and Google Drive – Our budget file has one of the sheets named “receipts”. I make a link to the document found in the 2025 Budget folder. This same file is also where I keep track of donations and home project expenses for the year.

How did we reduce/eliminate outstanding debt?

• Communication! We were “poor” when we got married (we made about $800 a month, rent was $175, and we had to save every penny for tuition to finish our degrees). We made the decision very early not to use credit cards and to save every spare penny.
• Have a budget – and agree! I recently shredded years of paper budgets. The budget was “balanced” every month to make sure no expense was missed and that what it said was left over really was left over. I still do this – digitally instead of paper. Keep in mind emergencies happen – have an emergency fund to draw from.
• Try not to accumulate debt – I know this seems like a simple statement but it really has helped our finances over the years. Again, communication is key – everyone needs to be on board for this to work.
• Honest communications about purchases – Nothing is “hidden” from a spouse and we are both reasonable about our purchases. If there is a home improvement project, we know ahead of time and adjust the budget accordingly.
  • Do we really need to buy/hire someone for “it”?  
  • What will be the result of not getting/doing “it”?  
  • Is there something more important than “it” right now?  
  • Will “it” increase or decrease stress levels? The important thing is communication! This is probably how we’ve managed to stay married over 40 years! If both aren’t on board, issues result and money just muddies the water.
• Think of credit cards as “debit” cards – we use a credit card and pay it off every month. We decide before we make a purchase if it fits into the budget. And we get the rewards of the card.
• When something is paid off, put the “extra” money into savings/investment/retirement accounts

We know we have been very blessed (and privileged). These strategies sure did make life easier in the early 1990’s when John was “downsized” from a defense contractor when we had a new home and 2 small children. We planned ahead and assumed we would only have one income when determining our home purchase. That saved us from financial ruin.