• Main Menu
    • Home Page
    • Secure Area
    • File a Claim
    • Make a Payment
    • Refer a Friend
    • Join our Newsletter
    • Important Links
    • Insurance Glossary
    • View our Blog
    • Location(s)
    • Employee Directory
    • Contact Us
    • Extra Page 1
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
  • Automobile
    • Automobile Insurance Home
    • Auto Insurance Quote
    • Request ID Card for Auto Policy
    • Request Declaration and Coverages Page for Auto Policy
    • Send Declaration and Coverages Information to Lien Holder
    • Add Vehicle to Existing Auto Policy
    • Remove Vehicle from Existing Auto Policy
    • Add Driver to Existing Auto Policy
    • Remove Driver from Existing Auto Policy
    • Mechanical Breakdown
  • Homeowners
    • Homeowners Insurance Home
    • Homeowners Insurance Quote
    • Request Declaration and Coverages for Existing Homeowners Insurance Coverage
  • Renters
    • Renters Insurance Home
    • Renters Insurance Quote
    • Request Declaration and Coverages Page for Existing Renters Insurance Coverage
  • Motorcycle
    • Motorcycle Insurance Home
    • Motorcycle Insurance Quote
    • Request ID Card for Motorcycle Policy
    • Request Declaration and Coverages Page for Motorcycle Policy
    • Add Motorcycle to Existing Policy
    • Remove Motorcycle from Existing Policy
    • Add Driver to Existing Motorcycle Policy
    • Remove Driver from Existing Motorcycle Policy
  • Business & Commercial
    • Business & Commercial Insurance Home
    • Commercial Auto Insurance Quote
    • Request ID Card for Commercial Auto Policy
    • Request Declaration and Coverages Page for Commercial Auto Policy
    • Add Vehicle to Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • Remove Vehicle from Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • Add Driver to Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • Remove Driver from Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • General Liability Quote Form
    • Business Owners (BOP) Quote Form
    • Workers Compensation Quote
  • Health
    • Health Insurance Home
    • Health Insurance Quote
    • Disability Insurance Quote
    • Long Term Care Insurance Quote
  • Recreational Vehicle
    • Recreational Vehicle Insurance Home
    • Recreational Vehicle Insurance Quote
    • Request ID Card for Recreational Vehicle Policy
    • Request Declaration and Coverages Page for Recreational Vehicle Policy
    • Add Recreational Vehicle to Existing Policy
    • Remove Recreational Vehicle from Existing Policy
    • Add Driver to Existing Recreational Vehicle Policy
    • Remove Driver from Existing Recreational Vehicle Policy
  • Life
    • Life Insurance Home
    • Life Insurance Quote
    • Term Life Insurance Quote
  • Earthquake
    • Earthquake Insurance Home
    • Earthquake Quote
    • Request Declaration and Coverages Page for Existing Earthquake Insurance
  • Locations
  • Video Library
    • Auto Insurance Videos
    • Homeowner's Insurance Videos
    • Mercury Insurance Videos
Auto Homeowners Umbrella Earthquake Commercial
Home > Blog > Japanese budgeting hack to get your finances on
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018

Japanese budgeting hack to get your finances on

A few years ago, Marie Kondo’s organizational revolution centered on a simplejapanese budget
Japanese tidying plan that took the world by storm, and now a similar Japanese method for organizing your finances is gaining steam.

Kakeibo -- pronounced Kah-kay-boh -- means household financial ledger in Japanese, and is a way to make big-picture saving goals while monitoring your spending on a daily basis. It’s based on a century-old financial concept that originated in Japan but has been resurrected by a newly published book titled "Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money."

The book is currently only available in English in the U.K., but the publisher told ABC News it’s releasing the book in the U.S. this fall.

The general concept starts with mindfulness about your goals -- Why are you saving? How much do you want to save?

Once the big-picture goals have been recorded, you go on to calculate your budget. It’s based on a concept financial planners dub the envelope system: You determine your monthly income and then either literally (with cash) or figuratively (in a written ledger) divide the income into envelopes.

These envelopes represent different categories of spending: the Kakeibo book suggests survival, optional, culture, extra, and saving. The "survival" envelope is for rent or mortgage, groceries, medical, utilities, and transportation. The next envelope, “optional” covers restaurants, take-out, and shopping for clothes. The third envelope, “culture,” is for music, cable subscriptions, movies, and books. Finally, “extra” is the envelope for any emergencies that come up plus things like gifts and repairs.

A final envelope, "saving," represents the money you specifically allocate to your cash-stashing goals.

Each month starts with a new allocation of money into the envelopes and then as you spend, money is withdrawn from each respective envelope until it’s all gone. Then, you wait for the next month to reallocate new income to your budget.

The book has daily entry lines like a diary for all your spending and income items so that thinking about your finances becomes a daily habit. Nudges in those day-to-day pages remind you of your big picture goals.

Stacey Tisdale, a behavioral finance expert and the author of "The True Cost of Happiness: The Real Story Behind Managing Your Money," told ABC News that she likes the book's concept.

“We've learned that when we set goals, that really gives us the motivation to do things like stick to a spending plan,” Tisdale said.

She added that the power of journaling brings those goals back into our peripheral vision.

“We spend for lots of different reasons," Tisdale said. "What’s great about journaling is that you can start to really look at what’s really driving your financial behavior.”

For those seeking a more modern way of implementing this system, one option is an app called GoodBudget, which is based on a version of the envelope concept. With the GoodBudget app you can create as many of these envelope categories as you like and give them customized names that resonate with your lifestyle. Then you tie the app to your bank and credit card accounts and it populates your spending, income, and balances in real time.

The popular finance app Mint from Intuit also has its own budgeting tool that gives you many different category options and also pulls from your accounts in real time. Mint is more of a Swiss army knife of financial apps so the budget aspect isn’t front and center, like GoodBudget, but it does give you features like notifications and alerts to high spending that keep your budgeting goals top of mind.

This article originally published on ABCNews.go.com by BECKY WORLEY

 

Posted 11:00 AM

Tags: japanese budgeting hack to get your finances on track
Share |


No Comments


Post a Comment
Required
Required (Not Displayed)
Required


All comments are moderated and stripped of HTML.

NOTICE: This blog and website are made available by the publisher for educational and informational purposes only. It is not be used as a substitute for competent insurance, legal, or tax advice from a licensed professional in your state. By using this blog site you understand that there is no broker client relationship between you and the blog and website publisher.
Blog Archive
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2010

  • 5 tips to protect your possessions with valuable items insurance coverage(3)
  • spring driving tips(3)
  • john o'leary monday motivation: would you do it again?(2)
  • preventing slips and falls in your home(2)
  • crime spikes on halloween: fictional ghost story or factual concern?(2)
  • 3 easy ways to get rid of fruit flies(2)
  • why 2 experts say you should clean your medicine cabinet — and their 5 key tips(2)
  • john o'leary monday motivation: what do you see?(2)
  • help keep your teens safe behind the wheel(2)
  • 10 best places to get a deal on glasses(2)
  • motivational monday(2)
  • things burglars look for before breaking into a home (and what keeps them away)(2)
  • grilling safety tips(2)
  • ez-prep (severe weather: emergency preparedness and response planning)(1)
  • false facts you believe about money(1)
  • motivational monday with john o'leary: how heroes are made(1)
  • home safety tips(1)
  • john o'leary monday motivation: leave it all behind(1)
  • the flu is a bad souvenir. here’s how a pilot stays healthy while flying(1)
  • are you protecting your family from harmful uv rays?(1)
  • why you might want to wrap your car key fob in foil(1)
  • 10 smartphone camera features that make you feel like a professional photographer(1)
  • life insurance misconceptions(1)
  • should you pay off your mortgage?(1)
  • 19 discounts seniors didn’t know they could get(1)
  • 10 simple & sustainable tips for a healthier you in 2019(1)
  • confessions of a car salesman(1)
  • 6 simple spring car care tips(1)
  • car cleaning tricks that your body shop won’t tell you about(1)
  • drinking coffee won't improve your metabolism — here's what actually works(1)
  • ridiculously simple and free ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle(1)
  • financial book clubs make learning about money more social(1)
  • 6 ways to secure your home when you're away(1)
  • monday motivation with john o’leary: a small act of caring(1)
  • family fire safety tips(1)
  • 9 healthy holiday-eating strategies(1)
  • monday motivation with john o'leary: will you see it?(1)
  • how times of trouble remind us to be grateful “if the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you(1)
  • tips to keep your house plants happy and healthy(1)
  • small money moves to change your financial future(1)
  • john o’leary motivation: it’s not about you(1)
  • always bloated(1)
  • 15 times you should definitely be washing your hands and aren’t(1)
  • john o'leary monday motivation: redefining perfect(1)
  • john o'leary monday motivation: slow down and enjoy life(1)
  • john o'leary monday motivation: where do i belong(1)
  • what to do when you're hacked(1)
  • 20 ways to save money(1)
  • focus on safety all year long(1)
  • power outages(1)

View Mobile Version
QUICK LINKS

Home
About
Get a Quote
Contact

Refer a Friend Leave A Review
                          R.L. Thomas Insurance Service, Inc.

                              21021Ventura Blvd., Suite 215                         
                              Woodland Hills, CA  91364                    
                              Phone: (818) 380-1700                            
                              Fax: (818) 906-0667                                
             

                               License#: 0601754
Powered by Insurance Website Builder