Help! I cant seem to monitor my spending- blonde day!

elzie

Hiya

Im trying to do all the things recommended on here like keeping a list of income and expenditure spreadheet and a spending diary which im just keying into a spreadsheet. The problem is that if i look at my figures it seems i have money left every month (which is so not true!)

Is it because under each month ie april i list it all but then i get paid on the 20th of each month so im spending in may? and then i get my child benefit on different dates too and this makes my figures all wrong..

Then my spending diary is like 1st-31st of each month but im always brassic on the week up to pay day and then get paid on the 20th so im accounting for some of the next months budget too. Sorry im probably not explaining this very well at all.

I just need someone to point me in the right direction to be able to collate all my financial activity and see exactly where I am on each day of the month- can anyone please help me? I just need a spreadsheet or something that I can update daily and forecast spending.

Any advice/help would be much appreciated.

SeduLOUs

Instead of working on calendar months work from one pay to the next. So your 'May' column should represent 20th April to 20th May or whatever it is. Presumably your benefits are monthly aswell so fit once into each column. If not, make them sit in whichever pay period they relate to. Your spending diaries should reflect the same dates too.

I have my spreadsheet 'plan' laid out months in advance. I pay all of my rent, bills and debts on payday and know that whatever is left in the bank is what I have left for food shopping/petrol etc. When it's gone it's gone. If I end up broke because I spend too much early on, then at least everything that needs to be paid already has been, and I just have to feel sorry for myself with beans on toast and walking to work in the rain for a week. That's normally enough to get me back on track for the next month.

I do have a savings pot aswell, but as far as monthly spending goes it doesn't exist. It's there for emergencies only (such as car breaking down, vet bills, NOT shiny new clothes!).

Bear in mind that some pay days are 4 weeks apart and some are 5. If you have a budget of say £50 a week for food shopping, this will need to be adjusted in longer/shorter months to make everything match up and stop you from getting left short.

Good luck x

Karb

Agree with SeduLOUs

Make your spreadsheet run 20th - 19th if thats when you get paid.

Are you capturing all of your spending in your spending diary? The little top up shop when you've run out of bread and milk, the haircut, the occasional chocolate bar at work, the kids school trips etc etc?

elzie

ahhh right thats explains where im going completely wrong!

Thanks so much!

all my bills go out on payday too and thats what i want it to be like so that i live to what i have left but it doesnt seem to be working out that way at leaset on paper! in reality when the money is gone, its some very "different" meals for me and the kids till payday lol.

Yep capturing everything in my spending diary- am actually quite obsessive abut keeping it completed- i find it really useful. i would just like to get my finances all "on paper" to see where i am once and for all

SeduLOUs is there any way you can send me an example of a spreasheet to use please?

shebrett

If you're having trouble with your food budget for the last couple of weeks you could work it out per day if that helps? There are about 30 days on average each month so if you have £150 for food then it would work out to £5 a day for food shopping.

If you like things to be nice and easy then say your budget is as above then you could get £150 in £5 notes and put them aside and each morning take out £5 and put it in your shopping purse that way anything you have in your purse you know is OK to use.

Not sure if that's helpful but my stepson had trouble keeping track and that method helped him to keep things in line so thought it might be useful.

ani*fan

I found that whether I used a spreadsheet or paper and pen, the only way I could get a handle on my spending was using seperate pots for different expenses, and learning what was in the budget and what wasn't. A wee alarm goes off in my head now when I'm about to spend outwith my plan.

Keep practicing. You will get there in the end. It does take time though.

elzie

Thankyou for all the advice. Im still struggling to get it all documented and set a budget for the year that i know i wont overspend on.

First year on my own running a house with my kids and its so hard to keep tabs! about to go bankrupt too which is very daunting and which is why i want to be able to keep a track of everything. still think im in the wrong direction but hey im sure ill get there

Thanks again.

YORKSHIRELASS

I have a spreadsheet that I update every day from my online banking showing how much I have spent so far that month and separating this out into columns for each type of expenditure.

My spreadsheet keeps a running total of my bank balance and at the bottom I have a figure for "income to come in" and "expenses to go out" which I also update every day. This means that I can see where I am going to be at the end of the month.

As someone else says it takes a bit of practice and what works for someone else might not be right for you. I have to say though that keeping proper records, however you do it, is crucial. For me thats how I got into debt into the first place - thinking I could afford things when I couldnt!

Another idea to try is the envelope system which people on here use where you separate your monthly expenditure into pots of money for each week. A lot of people swear by this.

Good luck

Tabatha_Kitten

My biggest expence after bills & fuel is the weekly food shop which I always do on a Saturday.
Where I was going wrong was planning my budget based on 4 weeks in every month when in reality some months will have 5 saturdays in them.
What I do now is plan for a 5 week month and treat any months with only 4 weekends in them as an extra payment towards building up my emergency fund.

TotallyBroke

I can send you a very old spreadsheet of mine.. pm me your email address and I'll send it.

camuk81

Some great ideas so far. I have a combination of items and it works for me!

I have one account my salary goes in then a second account for my bills. That way I can't spend money for my mortgage, it takes a bit of time to work it all out with transferring details however it's great for me for the long term.

Then in my main I have a spreadsheet that documents everything and all my direct debits go out no later then 7 days after my salary.

So I have one more tomorrow and then everything is gone for this month.

recently I've had a struggle with shopping so I take an average and pop that into savings so I can't spend it! Then transfer when required.

Very anal but thats me spreadsheets all over!