Getting To Know the Green Pig
PRE-PREPARATION TO USE THE GREEN PIG
Doing the suggested
pre-prep
is absolutely not necessary. But we know it is time well spent.
If you are reading this it probably
means that you feel you do not have satisfactory control over your
financial matters. It probably means that you have some stress and
worries about money matters.
The big S word (stress) is wicked.
From published data we know that about 75% of diagnosed illnesses are
due to stress. Also from published data we know that about 50% of
stress is related to worries about money. The hardships, pain, and loss
of money due to money worries is beyond ability to comprehend. To a
significant extent it is just due to not knowing your own numbers.
But you can know your numbers.
That’s why the Green Pig exists. It is a tool that lets you see and
know your own money numbers. This gives great comfort (vs. stress).
From published data we know
that 40 million Americans
have no idea where there money goes. More
than that has no spending plan for the future (usually called a budget).
The Green Pig may be the most
complete package available for personal money management. Although easy
to use, more completeness usually means more complexity. If all you
want or need is to record where your money is going you might find
another package more appealing. After you read this tutorial you will
see what we mean by completeness but at the same time easy to use.
You might have heard or even
tried packages such as mint.com, GreenSherpa, and others. They
automatically download data from various financial sources including
other banks, credit cards, loans, etc. If you feel comfortable with
that, you might prefer one of them.
But, if you like to touch and
feel your own numbers; if you want to create your own budget rather
than a black box computer guessing what you should spend; if you get
nervous wondering “where in the heck did those numbers come from?”; if
you want to decide what data to see and when; if you think it is creepy
when a black box computer guesses what categories to assign expenses
to; if you think you know your own numbers better than a black box
computer; if you don’t want to be scared out of your britches by what
seems to be strange things happening to your money in your bank
account; then you might not want to use one of the packages that
“automatically”downloads data from financial institutions. Those “if’s”
actually come from personal experiences.
This tutorial is split
into two sections.
One is a Word document to download for pre startup preparation. The
startup preparation is not at all a requirement but very much
recommended. We know from experience that a little thought ahead
of time saves time and frustration later.
To download the pre-preparation documents click here.
The tutorial is in essence what would be called “Help” in most
software. It can also be printed for a hard copy.