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A Simplified Play Account – Ep. 153
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by traditional percentage-based budgeting and multiple accounts, this episode brings a fresh perspective on simplifying your finances, particularly when it comes to managing a play account. So, here we go!
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A Simplified Play Account
We talked about the Play account, but you need to know the simplified way to do it because I know I’ve heard that all that sounded way too overwhelming me, I’m never going to do it. So let’s talk about the simplified way to do your Play account. Here we go!
This is the Your Money Your Life podcast. I’m your host, Aimee Cerka, a money confidence coach for female entrepreneurs on the path to six figures. After over 10 years in the personal finance industry and multiple personal financial and medical crisis.
I was fed up with the lies that are being shouted from the rooftops by the Gurus and the media. So now I help you simplify, solidify and scale your money. By blending tactile money strategies with mindset work, you can create unstoppable finances. Together, you’ll finally figure out the money thing.
So you can make more money in less time without living off of beans and rice, or sacrificing your lifestyle. Episodes here on the podcast are short and sweet. Being married, having four kids at home, homeschooling being the CEO running the household, I’m kind of busy. And I know you are too. So let’s keep it simple and get to the point. Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here!
Welcome back to the Your Money, Your life podcast. Let’s talk today about the Simplified Play account. Now if you’re just tuning in, we are in the middle of the guilt free impulse spending series we have gone through for days. And this is actually like a bonus day bonus episode.
First day, of course, we talked about what impulse spending is and why we do it. The second day, we talked about what we needed to stop doing when it comes to impulse spending. The third day, we talked about the 24-hour rule, which is essentially like the golden rule when it comes to your money. The fourth last time, we talked about the Play account.
Introducing the Play Account
And the Play account is the fun within your budget specifically designed to spend money to go have fun. And I know when we get into that, and the percentage-based budgeting, we start talking about having all the different accounts I’ve heard from several people, like that’s overwhelming. I don’t want to have that I don’t like the idea of it. So I wanted to quickly kind of show you a simplified way to do it.
Okay. Because when I first started and the person that I had learned percentage-based budgeting from originally, which is T. Harv Eker. He is the one that wrote Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. But originally, we had all the different accounts.
So they talked about having well, his system is a little different. I think there’s five accounts, six accounts. I’ve subdivided a little bit more when we’ve done when I created my budgeting system. But he tells you to have different accounts for the money and the different accounts.
Overcoming Budgeting Overwhelm
And the reason for that is because so many of us try to make account budget balancing. Yep, we’ll call it that. And it just doesn’t work in that regard. Because well, it does work in that regard because you have your money separated, but I totally get that it can be overwhelming. So when we first started this, with the Play account, what I did is we had a play fund, and my blow money and like the family blow money like the dining out the fun money, those things was in the account.
And then my husband’s ball money was pulled out with cash was just easier for him to have cash, he preferred it. That was the way we structured it in the beginning. And it worked for a while that was why I was able to share the story last time about like, you know, having the $600 in the Play account because it had compounded up.
And there’s definitely value in having that. But I hear you on like you don’t want all the accounts. So what we have since started doing and the way the system and the budget works for me now is I have worked on getting one of the credit cards that I really wanted to have for the rewards points. So most of my transactions now go on the credit card, which I know is like but you know, we get the rewards points, things are paid off. And it works. This is how it works.
Using Budget Tracking Apps
So we use a budget tracking system to track our expenses, right? I use and love YNAB you need a budget, I’ll put the link in the show notes if you want to check it out. Get an affiliate link for a free 32-day trial I think it is. But within YNAB we have the different categories.
So the broad categories within the budget tracker which is the same thing I put on the Excel spreadsheet, the YNAB has like the categories. Everything’s auto pulled and it’s very quick to look at. Excel spreadsheet is more for weekly check-in month end.
Breaking Down Categories
Okay. So within YNAB you have the categories like we talked about fixing necessities, very necessary necessities, health saving, giving, see where we’re going here, those are your broad categories. And then within that you had the subcategories so like under the fixed necessities that’s where you separate out like rents, last mortgage, electricity, water all those things, okay, but you do the same thing with your Play account. So you can leave the money wherever you want to leave it.
But then you can see the breakdown within the tracking app. So I have a subcategory that’s his money to blow, I have a subcategory that’s her money to blow. I’ve had the subcategory for dunk out, I had subcategory for fun money, I had the sub category for entertainment.
So like our Netflix is built underneath really account currently. And that’s how you see it. So when ever we sit down to do the weekly check in with our money, we’re categorizing the finances looking at the percentages by add the money that we have in the Play account to the tracker within YNAB, that it shows how much we’ve assigned to that category.
The One-Account Method
So you can still see a quick pull up all it does, all you need to do is take a look at the app. And you can see what you have what you’ve spent, because you’ve got the bank import set up, your transactions are being pulled in, you can see where you’re at, within your budget, and you’re still staying on top of it. And then you can put it all on the one account if you want.
Of course, when you do the weekly check-in if you’re putting it on the credit card, then you make the payment on the credit card just doing it mindfully. But it’s a simplified way where you can see the breakdown within the tracking app, but operate out of the one account or maybe two accounts, however you want to set that up. Alright. That is the simplified way to do the Play account.
It’s still doable, if you want to operate out of one account. And that is I kind of went really hard into the separating all the accounts and then it’s adjusting back because my theme for probably the last I don’t know, well, 18 months is simplifying everything, what can be simplified? How can we do it, and this simplified version of the play account is working really well. All right.
Next time around, we’re going to finish up our guilt-free impulse spending series, the thing that you need to do to be able to make more money so you have more money to be able to spend impulse spin, we’re going to tie it all together. I can’t wait for you. To hear that. Send me a message on Instagram. Let me know if this was helpful. We’ll see you next time. Bye for now.
Take Control of Your Finances
You’re struggling with shame and guilt around your finances. Whether it’s debt impulse spending mistakes from the past or the fact that you still haven’t hit your income goal, then it’s time for you to work with me. There are different levels of support and price points that you can use on the path to removing that guilt and shame so you can step into your unstoppable life.
After all, your finances are unique to you and your support should be to go to workwithaimee.com to get started with one of my most popular programs, or you can book a q&a call with me. We’ll figure out what your next step should be. And of course, all those links are hanging out in the show notes as well.
