How do you all track your spending?

getmore4less

There is no such thing as a 5 week month.

Apart from Feb they are all one day different. so 4.29 or 4.43 weeks

Find out what is causing the problem with the cash flow it is likely to be one or two specific items only

For many it is the weekend if they tend to go out of Friday/Sat

Others its often something on a fixed schedule like shopping on a particular day and having more of them in some months or a weekly expense that occurs more

The divide by 5 and have some left over should work.

If you keep the extra then by the third month(13weeks) you should have at least a week in hand to break the cycle.

ellisthomas86

Well it depends from person to person, basically I prefer keeping the track of the expenses with the help of a pen and paper. But seeing that the technology has been drastically contributed in all segments and as well in the segment of financial part of our life, I started using the cloud based tool from Replicon that contributes better management of expenses to have the strategy of reporting also.

FireWyrm

Just to update this thread...anyone who wants an excel spreadsheet for budgeting purposes can get a copy of one I created yesterday from here : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/58m07i0jklqny0e/n3c1E0QUVw

Let me know if you need any improvement or you want some new charts or changes.

marmitesocks

Just seen this and got some great ideas from other posters...

I currently use a spreadsheet which I've adapted as I've gone along for the last few years. Thinking it may be time to start with a fresh one, set out in a better way.

cupcakequeen88

not sure if this will help anyone, but if you're a student you can get YNAB for free for a year at a time (as long as you're still a student). All the details are on their blog (sorry can't post links)

debtfreefuture

getmore4less wrote: »

There is no such thing as a 5 week month.

For some of us there is! I get paid on the last Monday of the month, so this is a five week month, four times a year.

getmore4less

debtfreefuture wrote: »

For some of us there is! I get paid on the last Monday of the month, so this is a five week month, four times a year.

they are not 5 week months

there will be 4 x 5 Monday months but that is not the same.

getting paid 5 weeks apart rather than 4 is not the same thing either if paid annual/12 12 times a year when you have a variable pay day(like last Monday) you just get paid early some month the budget should be based on all payments being the end of the month to pay for the next month.

if paid for 4weeks most months and 5 weeks 4 times a year then you need a 1 week buffer or just work on 4 weeks pay for the month and use the extra to cover the cash flow for annual bills.

White_Rose_Tight_ThaKnows

I keep a draft text message each day which is my daily food diary, any expendiature goes in there too. The out-going bit is then listed in a pocket diary on a Friday and Monday (when I write up my food dairy notebook) and in turn at the end of the month the information is put on a simple listed spreadsheet and also a spreadsheet which compares to last year (see sig. for comparison). It's basic as I'm lucky enough to have little to manage, but what I do may help someone as I know what's been said will help me or my family in future.

I do have a question for FireWyrm, who seems to be the most organised and detailed here! With everything you've done, can you see in value what differences these changes have made? i.e. I've noted year-to-year and see the difference in savings, with all your spinning plates is it as easy to notice?!

FireWyrm

White_Rose_Tight_ThaKnows wrote: »

I do have a question for FireWyrm, who seems to be the most organised and detailed here! With everything you've done, can you see in value what differences these changes have made?

Oh yes. To put it in perspective, I used to owe around £5000 more than I do at this moment in time. Just by changing the way I budget, I literally slashed the food bill to a quarter. When I buy petrol I buy it using money that has been set aside and budgeted. I dont need to worry about surprise bills because I have accounted for all money going out. If there is a spurious transaction, because I reconcile against the bank at least weekly, I would see it immediately.

White_Rose_Tight_ThaKnows wrote: »

i.e. I've noted year-to-year and see the difference in savings, with all your spinning plates is it as easy to notice?!

It isnt about keeping plates spinning, it is about watching small pots of money. In actuality, like most people I manage a budget in the high tens of thousands a year but I dont pay attention to everything all at once. I keep an eye on the four pots that mean the most and see the most traffic.

1) Food account - only used for bi-weekly shopping. I have a budget, it is set, there is no deviation. When it runs out of money, that's it, you make do with what you have. As you can imagine, I work hard to make sure it is a) never entirely empty and b) everything comes in on budget.

2) Petrol account - I actually budget way more than I need for the month, but the excess gets used for ad-hoc stuff like car repairs, and top ups for MOTs

3) Childrens account - I put the entirety of the CHB in there because it is theirs afterall. It doesnt belong to the house, but then, the house doesnt buy the children clothes or shoes. I plan well in advance what clothes are needed and with three children, one a baby, you can imagine it is a bit of a logistical exercise. I spent evenings planning how many pairs of shoes, socks, knickers, overclothes, playclothes, school uniforms etc I need. Thanks to this method, not only do I have a full wardrobe of clothes stored for each child for the next 6 months, I also have money salting away for uniforms in the summer and shoes I know they will need in the next month.

4) Entertainment. I dont keep an eye on this too much. If I want to buy something it is discussed and the account checked for funds. No funds, no buy. Simple as that.

5) Bills account - this is where all the money comes in and bills go out. I never use that card, I dont carry it, I dont have it hooked up to an online account. The only reason I have the account is to furnish bills. I keep an eye on it and check it at least weekly and especially at the beginning and end of the month to ensure money went it (I get a payslip, so I know it did) and money goes out as expected and according to budget.

The rest of the accounts amount to simply an account number and sortcode into which a number of standing orders are placed on the 1st of the month, each according to budget plans. I never look at them, I never transfer money out except for the purpose it was intended for.

So, you see, far from keeping many plates spinning, I just have to watch a few plates, the rest spin themselves. I trust my budget and the only thing I have to ensure is that each of the above accounts comes in under budget each month. It really is that simple. If I do that, then the long rang forecasts tell me that I will not only be debt free, but with a sizeable bunch of pots by mid-next year. I can then start saving into an ISA and then ultimately, a pension.

It is enormously liberating too. I dont look at special offers for food - they arnt in my budget. I dont buy over the phone, it wasnt planned for. I know exactly who I owe and how much and they are permitted to take only what I have agreed from my accounts. I have never and will never allow continuous payments for instance. Yes, I have sacrificed things, but in doing so, I've found other ways to accomplish the same thing and for far less than I had previously paid. When you start to do this, you realise just how much the consumer is targeted and constantly manipulated. I havnt seen TV in months and I find that I spend time thinking more about what I want to buy and when - rather than simply grabbing something because it looks good or I was told I should buy it. I find that I dont actually spend money from one day to the next except on what I had intended to buy anyway. It is easy to have no spend days when you divorce yourself from a consumer driven situation and start to ask yourself if you really needed that item - whatever it was. Invariably, the answer is no.

tinateaspoon

I've been using a really old (2000) version of Quicken on laptop XP, which won't load onto my new(er) desktop W7 - shame as I like it. I don't want a program that needs access to my bank and most of the ones mentioned seem to, besides a spreadsheet does anyone have any other suggestions?