I don't know where my money goes?

restless6

I am wasting money, but I dont know where. I have just done my SOA and have guessed at my food, child expenditure as I dont really know what I spend. I don't keep track.
As you can see, on paper, I have surplus money, but in reality I don't.
What do you do to keep track?




Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1033.86
Partners monthly income after tax....... 416.4 - I am single - this is my sons DLA
Benefits................................ 1008.51
Other income............................ 137.6 child benefit
Total monthly income.................... 2596.37

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 90
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 18
Electricity............................. 110 and gas
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 33.5, broadband and tv
Mobile phone............................ 30 for threedifferent sim only phones
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 23.18
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 50
Other child related expenses............ 150
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 13
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 200
Emergency fund.......................... 200
Total monthly expenses.................. 1570.8


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc loan......................0.........156.8.....0
credit card....................0.........200.......0
Total unsecured debts..........0.........356.8.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,596.37
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,570.8
Available for debt repayments........... 1,025.57
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 356.8
Amount left after debt repayments....... 668.77

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 2,500

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.


I forgot to add £50 a month school dinners and £74 a month David Lyold membership which I know is expensive but it is the only swimming pool open when I need to go- I go three times a week. I need to swim to keep my sanity.

FinallyGettingFree

I use You Need a Budget (YNAB) - it's amazing. You can get a free trial for the first month, maybe give it a go? Honestly, it revolutionised my finances and allowed me to pay down a lot of debt.

It makes you really think about what you want each penny or pound to do - so you don't just blindly do maths in your head and go "oh yes I can afford that coffee" - you actually know that the two pounds for coffee is going to be taken away from your category for clothing or the gas bill. Within a month or two you know EXACTLY where your money is going.

restless6

I will look into that, thank you.
I spend on my debit card in shops, credit card online.
So in theory i could see where every penny goes if i read my statements.

I try not to have too much cash because my son would steal it. I know it is easier to keep track of spending with cash, but he will take it from my purse, so it is not an option for me.

Pixie5740

Cash burns a hole in my pocket, it always has so I stick to cards as much as I can.

I'm a YNAB convert but a notebook and pen as a spending diary can work just as well. Once I started recording all of my spending it was illuminating. The credit card balance went down and the savings balance went up.

FinallyGettingFree

restless6 wrote: »

I will look into that, thank you.
I spend on my debit card in shops, credit card online.
So in theory i could see where every penny goes if i read my statements.

I try not to have too much cash because my son would steal it. I know it is easier to keep track of spending with cash, but he will take it from my purse, so it is not an option for me.

Looking at your statements is reactive though - you've already spent the money. It sounds like maybe you need something more proactive to help you focus your money where it is needed.

I know I sound like a YNAB salesperson, but that's exactly what it does!

craftingmad

I am currently using Budgetpulse - its free and works similar to YNAB I think. It is helping me to see exactly how much money I have to spend

andyfromotley

another vote for ynab.

LittleDutchgirl

Lots of people on here love YNAB. I found a spreadsheet or actually a series of spreadsheets worked well for me. Tracking those little spends was eye opening for me and once I got control of those I found myself with much more disposable income than I'd ever had.
Give it a try and I'm sure it'll change your life
LDg

abbiesmom

That's a hefty amount of surplus to be missing every month.


I was very much the same as you, was losing my surplus and could not account for it, found that cash went missing out of my purse.


For a whole month I kept a spending diary via my phone and it was fairly obvious where I was wasting money, a £2 coffee at work didn't seem much but have one a day all week and you've spent £10.


I moved my diary across to a spreadsheet and used it to budget, and opened a 2nd bank account to assist. All my regular bills out of one and all the income into the other - I'm now in a position where my bill account has 2months worth of bills in there, my daily account is out of the overdraft and I've an emergency fund saved with my local credit union.


Keeping the diary was a real eye opener, for the first month following I did all my shopping online so as not to make rash decisions at the checkout about dvds or some other tempting little treat, my habits quickly changed I can tell you!