Thursday, September 13, 2012

Ways to track spending

by Lucy Schrader

Spending money is easy.  Keeping track of it takes more time.  The time, however, is very well worth it to help you manage your finances, stress and life.  In this fast world of automatic withdrawals, credit cards, debit cards, quick buys and on-line purchasing, people do not always realize where their money is going.   This holds true for adults, teens and youth. 

Tracking your expenses gives you a better picture of what you buy, helps you decide what you want and helps make a financial plan for you and your family.  It is so important to involve kids and teens and help teach them to track their money, too!

From here, you can make a budget for how you want to spend and save your money.  When you know what you want to do (get out of debt, save for a trip, save for college, buy day-to-day items), you see what is important to you and what is not.   You can decide to save on things that are not as important to you, so you can have and do the things that are important to you.

Where to start?

The hardest part is getting started.  Don’t worry… the first few months may not be completely accurate.  That’s all right!  As you get going, you’ll get a better idea of what works and what does not work.  If you keep it simple, you are more likely to follow through.  I use a system that would make an accountant faint.  But it works for my family and I understand it.

When you track, you account for all of your income sources and your expenses.  You make notes of when you get money and when you spend or save it.  You have several different options.  If you don’t know where to begin, start simple like making columns on paper or a spreadsheet.  You can expand as you understand your finances better.

Here are a few examples of how to track your expenses (note: These are just a few ideas. This is not an endorsement for specific companies and their products, but just some examples.):

Before you sign up for a money management system, find out the following:

  • Where is your personal information going and how is it used?
  • Can you enter your information safely over public Wi-Fi (what kind of security does the system have)?
  • Do you want a system that you download to your computer or do you want to be able to enter information from wherever you are (using your phone, laptop, tablet, computer, etc)?
  • What is the cost?
  • If it is free, will you get ads or other obligations?
  • Can more than one person enter expenses from different places (if you need this as a family)?  (For example, one of the fee-based texting services lets more than one person enter amounts from different phones, so a family with a joint account can stay current with their balances.)

Remember that it can take several weeks or months to get into the full swing of tracking your expenses. 

  • Start somewhere (even in the middle of the month)
  • Small steps make a big difference
  • Time upfront can save you time and money later
  • Simple is often better—you’re more likely to use the system.

One person decided he would start with just four categories on a spreadsheet.  These four categories gave him a starting point and helped him see where his money was going and how he could make changes.  Here are his four categories:

  • Income
  • Necessities (food, rent/mortgage, transportation, medical, some clothes, etc)
  • Fun and entertainment
  • Investments and savings

Again, tracking your expenses isn’t about cutting out all of your fun.  It’s to help you decide what is important to you and what you can do later.  Budgeting can help reduce financial and family stress.

Involve youth and teens

Youth and teens have a wide range of income levels.  Some get small allowances, some get large amounts, others work and some have no money for themselves.  It’s very important for them to understand finances and how to stay within their means.  Setting a good example and involving them early is a great place to start.

Because I recently started tracking expenses, I’m paying more attention to our kids’ habits, too.  I am very aware that my son likes to spend his money, so we’re starting a system on paper with columns for him.  Pokémon does not grow on trees.  For now, I am going to pay him $1-2 per month to track.  I want him to get into the habit of it and see how important balance and living within his means are.

You can use books to help get conversations going about money and how to track spending.    Here are just a couple of examples:

For youth:

Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz

For teens:

Budgeting Smarts: How to Set Goals, Save Money, Spend Wisely, and More  by Sandra Donovan

By tracking your spending you’re making a great step in taking charge of your money and helping you reach your goals!

For Extension financial programs in your area, check with your local Extension Center.  In Missouri, you can find Extension Specialists and office contact information at http://extension.missouri.edu/index.aspx

 

Lucy Schrader
HES Associate State Specialist and
Building Strong Families Program Coordinator
University of Missouri Extension
162 Stanley Hall
Columbia, MO  65211
573-882-4071 or SchraderL@missouri.edu

http://extension.missouri.edu/bsf

 

23 comments:

Unknown said...

I recommend setting up an accounting corner in the house where you can keep all your records. A couple of file folders and a box are all you need to file bile, receipts and other financial documents. You could have a table and drawer designated for the accounting. This would maximize you time on the work.

Rafael Conner

Unknown said...

thanks for sharing us such a great information.

Expense Reporting and Tracking System

Unknown said...

All these strategies should work and fit. What matters is to make concrete the methods, and to build all your planning around such medium. Flowcharts and diaries may be a given, I'm sure, in the picture of 'financial planning' that we have in our heads. But unless we step out of it all being a cloud of ideas in our head, then we would be daunted by how magnanimous and multilayered it all may seem. Since there are lots of tendencies that may pull us into spending which will not be apparent on a commitment to planning that remains as a vow. Put ones and zeroes in that problem, so it all becomes more clear. What will be lost, and what will be gained in frugality.

Henrietta @ MediQ

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing great information with us.

I would suggest Keepek that proposes an efficient way for tracking expenses and managing invoices. With Keepek android app: just snap pictures of your receipts, the app extracts then key information such as merchant name, amount and date. The picture itself is stored and you can view it on your smartphone anytime and anywhere. You can easily manage categories and enter manual expenses as well as mileages. You can also report expenses to get approved or shared.

The app is free. Get it here : http://goo.gl/61B2Zb
website: www.keepek.com

Anonymous said...

This is one of the most important blogs that I have seen, keep it up! 3 credit scores

Unknown said...

a

Unknown said...

I'm certainly very happy to read this blog site posts which carries plenty of helpful data, thanks for providing such information. Cloud Bookkeeping Sydney

Justin Bieber said...

It’s a classic great for me to go to this blog site, it offers helpful suggestionseasy payday loans

Unknown said...

It’s amazing in support of me to truly have a web site that is valuable meant for my knowledge.onlinepayloans

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for ding the impressive job here, everyone will surely like your post. direct payday loan

Unknown said...

You fully match our expectation and the selection of our data.Entrepreneur

Chris Morris said...

Your website is terribly informative and your articles are wonderful.what online payday loans can practice in virginia

Jason Williams said...

Nice post. Thanks for sharing this article.

Tim Williams said...

Thanks for sharing. Great read.

David Hansford said...

Thanks for sharing. This is very helpful.

Samuel Mohamed said...

I love your content. Thank you

Leov Mohamed said...

I loved your post! Keep throwing more of this!

Palm Jumeirah Restaurants with a view

Fine Dining Restaurants in Palm Jumeirah

Robert11 said...

This is an extraordinary element for sharing this useful message. I am dazzled by the information you have on this blog. It causes me from multiple points of view. A debt of gratitude is in order for posting this once more. This is a great feature for sharing this informative message. I am impressed by the knowledge you have on this blog. It helps me in many ways. Thanks for posting this again. Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site. You have some really great posts and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an email if interested. Thank you! 먹튀검증백과

Daniel Danny said...

The worst part of it was that the software only worked intermittently and the data was not accurate. You obviously canot confront anyone about what you have discovered if the information is not right 파워사다리

Remaid Davis said...

So it is interesting and very good written and see what they think about other peopl 안전놀이터

Kelvin said...

It’s very informative and you are obviously very knowledgeable in this area. You have opened my eyes to varying views on this topic with interesting and solid content. 온라인바카라

Kelvin said...

You made such an interesting piece to read, giving every subject enlightenment for us to gain knowledge. Thanks for sharing the such information with us to read this. 파워볼사이트

Anonymous said...

I think this is a really good article. You make this information interesting and engaging. You give readers a lot to think about and I appreciate that kind of writing social media management australia