The first step in creating a financial plan is to decide goals for you, your family, and your money. To create a plan, you also need to know how you are using your money and determine how much money you are going to need to achieve them.
During the month of October, I’m going to be following my own steps and tracking my spending. In the past, I have tried a few methods to keep track of my spending. I have been most successful entering my spending into a notebook or spreadsheet everyday, this is the accountant in me. I have tried other methods such as:
- Keeping my receipt for the week and recording my spending at the end of the week
- Allocating different amount for spending from my budget and reducing the amounts as they are spent. This is known as the jar or envelope method
- Using my bank and credit card statements by checking all transactions and assigning them to the budget categories
This time I’m going to try the Mint app. I do not have an affiliation with Mint.
If you would like help and support to start tracking your spending, please let me know by leaving a comment below or emailing me at colleen@simplemoneytalk.com
