Originally Posted by
jmccon2
Great discussion thread.
I used to be in finance, so pls forgive the geek speak....
I use Quicken to track all accounts - even the BB accounts. Here is an example of how I keep track:
1) buy 3 x $1K on my CC. Quicken downloads this activity (say $3030 for this example) and I make sure the charge is 'unassigned'
2) When the GCs come in - I load $1k to each of the 3 BB accounts
4) I go back into Quicken and assign the $3030 charge with $1K per BB account and $30 goes into the MF spends account.
5) Go online and reconcile the BB account to what I have in Quicken.
If my Quicken info does not match what is showing online for the CC and BB, then there is a problem.
My process is very similar to yours. I've been using Quicken for at least 10 years and Money before that.
I assign charges as soon as it downloads from the bank and sometimes sooner since Chase is so slow to report charges. For any GC purchase I transfer the GC portion to my Gift Cards account and charge the fees to the expense category Miles Fees. I recently made another account for VR so it's easier to see what I have "in stock" in my drawer before I offload them. I try to minimize Walmart runs and only go when I have a decent chunk of GC to unload. When I unload VR or GC I mark that as a transfer to my GB or BB account or to the checking account where I deposited the MO.
By using Quicken I am 100% positive that I don't have any money sitting in my used GC drawer since everything is reconciled. I highly recommend this method of tracking. 10 minutes every few days is all it takes to be completely organized.