spend diaries

hard_working_dave

Hi Everyone

Now I got a grip on my budget,etc.What is the best way to set up a spend diary?.I know it sounds simple,but should I write entries on a daily basis ,in my notebook? Then add them up at the end of the month,as an overal figure?
I am using Goggle sheets for my overall monthly budget,and was thinking of including my days spends as one monthly figures.
Trying not ot overcomplicate matters,he,he
Any help is much a ppreciated
Cheers

datlex

Have you got a grip? Surely you want a app/page on your sheet which starts off for each category with the amount budgeted and deducts from that budget each time you make an allocated spend. Rather than adding up the total and hoping you come in on budget. I would have a front sheet with each budgeted category and then a sheet for each category. You just need three columns on the front sheet- budget, amount spent, balance. In each of the budget sheets you need two columns date and amount. The total from the amount column should auto feed via the SUM function into your amount spent on the front sheet. You could even look at conditional formatting to have the colour of the cells change to red/orange when you are getting close to budget.

The risk of writing it down then taking it off is you are risking over spending. A budget is what you plan to spend/ have allocated to spend.

Ilona

Get a medium size notebook and keep it in your kitchen drawer. When you are out of the house, get a receipt for everything you spend. When you come home, transfer the amount and what it was for into your book. Add it up daily, then add it up weekly, then add it up monthly. Read the diary from time to time, to remind yourself where your money went. You will probably find that you bought stuff that you didn't need, so you can cut that out if you need to save more.
Ilona

Primrose82

Using a spending tracking app is really good if you are disciplined about logging everything you spend - when you see it set out in categories for the whole month it makes you realise quickly where it all goes !
Plenty of basic free apps available

hard_working_dave

Thanks,a lot,I have tried a couple but could not get them to balance
Going to use Google sheets for my weekly spend