spending diaries

dollydaydream07

what alternative is there to a spending diary, i just can't get along with one, i manage about 2 days and then i forget to write something in and think oh beggar it! and then i don't bother again

so what could i use instead?

footballmanagerwidow

how about just having a little pocket in your bag or something for all your receipts and just totalling them all on a spreadsheet at the end of each day?

barneydee_2

i am the same as you i am ok for a couple of days them i laps, last month i kept the recipts in an envalope in my bag and added them every week, but doing this you do miss the little shops

Dee

dollydaydream07

footballmanagerwidow wrote: »

how about just having a little pocket in your bag or something for all your receipts and just totalling them all on a spreadsheet at the end of each day?

I like the idea of keeping all my receipts together so i can total it all up, think i would rather keep them and total them up on paper though as i have no idea on how to do a spreadsheet!!

Kadeeae

I've failed here too, and agree that keeping the receipts together sounds so helpful. And while we're on receipts, don't forget to check yours before leaving the shop - I've been "stung" quite a bit lately and am checking every one now!

rosieben

I keep all my receipts in my purse, sort them out every couple of weeks and enter it all in an A4 book, I make note of all spends including ebay, grocery, postage, utility bills etc. I clip the general shopping receipts inside the appropriate month's page. I had a mad idea that I would go through them one day and do a breakdown of my gc spending but I've never got around to doing it. It's reassuring though to be able to see how my gc spending has reduced.

*zippy*

If its any help you download a spendometer for you your mobile free...

http://www.creditaction.org.uk/spendometer.html

pixie1

I keep my reciepts in an envelope in my bag and then once a week I talley them up and record the total in a small book. I also have a shopping application on my ipod which allows me to write a shopping list, record the price of each item as i get them and add them to the 'trolley' where it adds it up for me - no nasty suprises at the till this way and also if i buy the same things the next week its a good way to keep track of ever increasing prices!

I also ALWAYS check my reciept whilst leaving shops as like Kadeeae said, i have been stung a few times recently too.

Pix

david_hellier

Another way of using a spending diary is to allocate a weekly amount to yourself per week, from your budget after all essentials have been deducted. Using receipts, deduct as you spend through the week. Try to get to the end of the week leaving some over to carry forward to the next week. This has the effect of keeping your overdraft down and avoids overspend.

taka

I ask for a receipt for everything even a bag of crisps! If for some reason I don't get a receipt I write it in my pocketmod (I always print one page at least for spends) as I always have one in the back pocket of my jeans for taking notes/checking dates etc. I then update my speadsheets at the weekend sometime with what I've spent.

floss2

david_hellier wrote: »

Another way of using a spending diary is to allocate a weekly amount to yourself per week, from your budget after all essentials have been deducted......

I do this, and run a spreadsheet with 2 pages per month....

Page 1 has regular payments like student support for my son, pension, life insurance, direct debits, share of household bills etc.

Page 2 has my income, less the amount paid out and the amount due to be paid out (carried forward from page 1) plus any extra expenditure like car tax or MOT, my weekly "pocket money" and whatever I spend during the month, added as i go along. Then I can see at a glance if I have any spare cash to splurge or if I need to tighten my belt to stay in the black until payday.