How to track personal expenses and Sticking to a Budget

How to track personal expenses and Sticking to a Budget

For many of us, running to the food market for some milk usually leads to us leaving an hour later with the whole store, and we still ask ourselves at the end of every month “where did my money go?” If you ask yourself that question then you’ve probably asked yourself “what am I doing wrong” as well, so maybe you could use some advice.

 

1) Create a budget

Can it really be as easy at that? It can be hard to get your priorities in line when it comes to spending money, which is why it’s very important to keep track of how much you spend in a week. Stress and anxiety play big roles in why we spend money, so having a plan set in place make things a little less complicated for us.

A budget can be tracked by paper and pencil, or by many of the apps on your smartphone. Apps like this one make it a lot less stressful when it comes to spending, but it’s best to try out different methods and find which one you like best.

 

2) Use cash over card

For bigger purchases, credit/ debit cards do the counting for us so we don’t have to. While that’s really convenient, it’s perhaps a little too convenient for a lot of us. Being able to swipe, swipe, swipe your problems away is a power some mortals just simply can’t handle.

Practice putting more faith in cash. Cards have become a crutch for must of us, sometimes leading us into debt. But the more cash you spend, the visually less you’ll appear to have in your wallet, leaving you with a good idea of how much you truly have been spending.

 

3) Separate accounts

It’s good to organize where your money goes. Having separate accounts allows for a guaranteed budget to be put towards things that are definitely worth it. At your bank, you can set up multiple accounts and add money to each individual one. It might seem excessive, but it goes a long way.

Have an account for gas, food, and utilities to ensure your money is going to the right place.

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