alex chiang: web 6.0

The latest piece of digg-fodder was one of those “N tips on saving money”. Usually, those lists are pretty dumb (aka use your common sense), but I am oddly drawn to them, like the el cheapo Asian moth that I am. Today, one of those lists linked to this blog post about saving money by rounding up.

The scheme is this: if you must write a check for $23.37, then when you go to write it in your checkbook register, you enter the transaction as $24. That’s it.

Now, if you’re like me, you’re scratching your head, wondering how the hell that is supposed to save you money. Let me explain. At the end of the month, you don’t actually balance your checkbook to the nearest penny. You simply look to see that all the transactions are present. What this does is to trick you into thinking that you have less money than you do in reality. Then, I guess when you go to the bank and look at your real balance, you have more money than you thought. Free money (if you are willing to wait 2.5 years for the incorrectly accounted-for change to add up to something.)

This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard of in my life.

First, if in the year 2007, you are still writing checks to pay for goods and services, then you should be dragged outside by rabid porcupines and killed slowly. How slowly? About as long as it takes you to write the check when I am standing behind you in the supermarket line.

Second, if in the year 2007, you are balancing your checkbook by hand, let me introduce you to computers. Why on god’s good earth are you not using Quicken, Money, GNU Cash, or even Excel to balance your accounts? ps, they have machines that will wash your clothes for you these days too!

Basically, this idea only works if a) you are easily tricked b) have a bad memory and c) enjoy using obsolete technology while annoying the rest of the world who understands that the preferred method of payment is electrons, plastic, or cash (in that order). What happens when you look at your current balance and see that the number there doesn’t match the number that you think should be there? Just live with it? Shouldn’t a large discrepancy in either direction cause you concern to investigate the reason for the discrepancy?

But hey, whatever you gotta do to get by, I guess.