Washing laundry in the sink. Thoughts about my bank account system.

March 1, 2024 - I woke up at 9 a.m. At 9:45 I walked to the Conti Campus. I passed the bakery on the way. It smelled so good of coffee and I felt kind of stressed without knowing why. On the spur of the moment, I took out my money envelopes and took 50 cents for the filter coffee.

At 11:34 I took the S3 to Hildesheim and then the bus to Borsum.

In the Bus: At the turnpike, the passage was blocked off by the police. I've been standing here for an hour before the entrance to Harsum...

I drive back again at 2:18 pm. It's a burden to be here when my mother is stressed again with Julien and wants to be alone.

I'm thinking about my account system.

Income bank account (Which bank?) - All income is entered here, from self-employment to private gifts (e.g. gifts from Grandma Galya). However, private income and expenses from self-employment are separated with sub-accounts.

Reserve bank account (call money account with interest) - 3 to 6 net monthly expenses should be saved here. This account is not touched, neither for vacations nor for clothing, technical equipment or café visits. Not even if you say: “I'll top it up straight away.” It's best to forget about this account and only draw on it in a real emergency, e.g. if the washing machine breaks down and you don't have enough in your savings account. The nest egg should be left to run full and the standing order should be canceled. Duration of the standing order = reserve amount / savings installment. In my case, I need to save 3600 euros. I can live with this for 5 months without any income.

If the nest egg has been used, it should be replenished using the above formula.

Savings account (call money account with interest at another bank as a reserve account) - For larger purchases such as a vacation. It is important to separate the savings in the reserve account so that you are not tempted to touch the reserve account for non-emergencies.

Fun account (Bank: Wise) - A small amount (e.g. 10%) is transferred here, which can accumulate if you haven't had so much fun in a month.

I'm at home at 6 pm. Nobody is there. I've had a shower and tried a new method of doing my laundry. It works much better than the old method:

I dared to soak my laundry in the sink without feeling disgusted. I filled the sink with warm water and swirled a little soap back and forth in the water. Then I put my sweater, T-shirt, socks and underpants in, let them soak and showered in the meantime. After showering, I rubbed a little on critical areas (armpits, genital area) and rinsed the soap off under clean water. Done.

At 8pm, I chatted to Lina in the kitchen about bank account models and finances. She gave me tips on how I can help my mom organize her finances so that she doesn't get into consumer debt and manages her money better. I hope that Mom won't forget our agreement at the end of the month.

Learning: Learned a more time-saving, slightly more sustainable method of doing laundry: soak laundry in the sink in the soapy water (moving the soap back and forth in the water) for a few minutes while I do something else. Then simply rinse the laundry and hang it up to dry.

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