When are you celebrating your Money Day?

>This was posted on India's first online weekly on personal finance on 14th August, 2007

JD Roth started writing his thoughts on personal finance which summarized all that he had learned from several months of reading financial self-help books. Now that journal has grown into a very useful and popular blog on personal finance, titled Get Rich Slowly, personal finance that makes cents! (Dollars, I would say)

In the following article, JDR shares his idea of a Money Day where you can focus on all personal finance matters in a day. Even though there are some issues which are US specific, the idea of a Money Day is universal.

Read on...

I opened my first checking account on the day I entered college. During registration, local banks set up tables at one end of the room. They all seemed the same to me. I chose the bank that gave me a free Frisbee. I did business with that bank for seventeen miserable years. I loathed that bank. They were constantly finding new and interesting ways to charge me money. If I hated it so much, why didn’t I change? Because I never felt like I had the time. Besides, I had no idea where else to go.

Eventually the bank went too far. Because of some obscure procedural policy, I was charged three $30 overdraft fees in a single day. This kicked my ass into gear. I took an afternoon off from work, closed my account, and started fresh at a local credit union.

It was one of the best financial decisions I’ve ever made.If I could solve one financial problem in a few hours, just imagine what I could do with an entire day. If you, too, have grand financial plans that you never seem to have time to fulfill, consider taking a personal Money Day.

Choose a normal weekday (when banks and business are open), take time off work, and get things done. Don’t worry that you’re using a vacation day for “nothing” — this vacation day will repay you many times over, not just now but for years to come.Before you begin, remove any barriers — mental and physical — that might prevent you from accomplishing your goals.

Gather all the account information you can find. Eliminate distractions. Commit to spending the entire day taking control of your personal finances. It’s time to do all the things you’ve been putting off!

Here are some tasks you might consider for your Money Day. These may sound dull, but the money you’ll save by taking the time to do these can be very exciting:

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