What do you put in a spending diary?

Asiacat

Another thing you can do at the end of the month us to take a highlighter and go through day by day highlighting any things that with hindsight you regret buying or spending money on.

Then make a separate list for each month. Highlighting what although not wastage you feel you didn't get your money's worth from will make you more aware of what not to spend money on in the future.

Recording everything you spend truly does focus your attention on whether you really need to spend money on something.

I've just been through my diary for 2010 and am rather pleasantly surprised to find that I have only bought 2 things over B1000 ( 22 pounds) in the whole of the year. I spent B1490 on a new mobile phone in September and B2000 on a second hand playstation 2 in November.

smiler34

Thanks for all the advice. Will get a notebook on Jan 1st and start from there xx

an9i77

The approach I use is that anything which is not a regular payment or bill goes in the diary, ie anything which I have discretion over whether i spend it or not. So car insurance and fuel for work for example would not go in as I don't choose on a month to month basis whether to have this or not, but groceries/entertainment/extra petrol/postage etc would go in as these things vary from month to month

[Deleted User]

I am lucky and have an iPhone and have an accounts app on there. I use it all the time and have added all my accounts and also one for cash I take from my account so I know exactly what I spend.
Before that I had an A5 note book that I wrote down everything in
P
X

gfplux

Don't forget the gambling.
Lottery tickets and scratch cards is spending not an investment.

BEAT_THE_DEBT

And gift spend too! B days etc.x