Ask HN: How do you manage your finances?

I‘ve read a few dosen value investing books and would advise to read Richer, Wiser, Happier by William Green. It has a bit of a sketchy title but is actually a very good summary. The takeaway is: if you are as dedicated as these value investors and want to pick stocks then go and pick stocks, but for most people index funds are probably the way to go. The book also talks a bit about philanthropy.

Most importantly it talks about the mindset that you need for good financial planning. A very long-term and patient mindset. People who prefer to spend more than they own, for example, will not be suited for investing since they typically can’t wait long enough.

I don't. I just wing it month-to-month and hate every second of it.

Ever caused any issues or all-good?

I Will Teach You to Be Rich Book by Ramit Sethi, is a good place to start. He has lots of great free content on YouTube you can check that out first and decide if you wanna give the book a try.

This is almost exactly what I do, as well.

There are only two other things that I do on top of that: I practice "pay yourself first" -- that is, I take 10% off the top of every dollar that comes my way and park it where it's really hard for me to get at it.

Then, I practice "repay your neighbors" -- that is, I take 10% off of the remaining money and use it for philanthropic purposes primarily focused on my local community (in the form of monetary donations, or the equivalent in my time). The point of this is to recognize that none of the success I've had could have happened without the support of my community, and this is a way to repay the favor.

Those two things happen before anything else -- before paying bills, investing, saving, etc.

I don't micromanage my finances, primarily because I hate dealing with money and focusing too much on it makes me unhappy.