Writer’s Block from June 15, 2010:

How do you keep your finances on track? Are there any online tools you use to keep track of what you’re spending and where? When was the last time you were caught off guard (pleasantly or not-so-much) when you checked your bank account balance?

It would be really easy to turn this response into a plug for my own company’s FinanceWorks, but I’ll restrict myself to mentioning it here. I actually do not use FinanceWorks because I don’t patronize a financial institution that has it. That being said, if I had access I would.

I keep my finances on track through a simpler method. I have two checking accounts. One pays the bills. The other one is my “running money” and only has a debit card attached. There are no printed checks and online bill pay isn’t set up (much to the bank’s apparent dismay).

Whatever I have in that account is whatever I have to spend on food, gas, entertainment and similar. If I’m careful, I can keep from running through the money that goes in with each paycheck and thus build up enough of a balance to do something really special. If I’m not careful, I have to skip luxuries and live cheaply.

Since my bills are paid, though, I don’t have to do without the essentials. By making the “pay bills” account a little less accessible — it does not have a debit or ATM card attached — I’m (mostly) able to maintain enough discipline to keep my overall financial picture on track.

I check both accounts’ balances daily so I tend not to encounter surprises of either type. I find that reassuring. I might not always have much in my bank accounts, but I have enough not to worry. That’s one less source for anxiety. On the other hand, I don’t always quite know where my money goes but heavy use of a debit card makes it hard for me to keep track.

That’s why I’d love to be able to hook a financial management tool to my debit card. Tools like mint.com won’t work because I want to track my spending real-time instead of having to enter data about each and every transaction. I’ll be glad when demand gets to the point that I have access to something within my bank account.

And as someone whose income partially depends on the popularity of FinanceWorks, I’d love to see my bank and credit union install that one in particular. :)