All,
I'm am about to re-enter real life after 7 years as a Ph.D. student, and I want to manage my money better this time. My understanding is that controlling your expenses using a budget is the gold standard for doing this (note I'm frugal, but I think this could still help me save more).
I have three problems, one of which is general and two of which are peculiar to me:
I tend to be time-starved. (A separate issue I am working on.)
I have some neck problems that mean that I can't write on anything without using a desk, and I can't really use my smart phone (Android) without pain either, especially when standing up. (I've been working on this with some physicians for quite some time.) Writing at a desk for a while is a problem also.
Due to some related issues, I can't really use a computer at home for significant periods of time. So I can't code all my individual transactions by type, even if I shelled out for the latest Quicken and possibly a monthly fee for near-real-time transaction download.
Ordinarily the advice would be to do the envelopes trick and apportion cash money into envelopes for different categories for each month. But I really don't think as a guy I can manage to carry around several different envelopes most of the time, and I also think dates and prospective dates would be quite unimpressed. Also coin change is virtually useless to me, and my pockets are full already.
So what are some good ways (or in your opinion the best way) for me to actually control my spending with a budget despite my constraints?
Someone advised me to just do tracking via pushing all expenses through a rewards card, but that seems like just reporting, and I really want controlling.
I haven't used a site like Mint extensively, but I would be willing to try it, despite the computer problem and my instinctive paranoia of allowing it access to my account credentials (I'm a computer security expert btw), if it truly sounds like the best solution.
I am aware there is some subjectivity here, but I think it is a valid question and I really need a good answer. If there is somewhere better to post this, please let me know.