spending diary advice - where do I start?

emmie

Probably a really stupid q, but what is the best way of keeping a spending diary? And where do I start??!

Have set up spreadsheet to list regular outgoings, cheques, cash withdrawals etc but have never kept it uptodate.

Want to start a spending diary, but not sure what to put for my starting balance, as amount in bank isn't "real" amount iykwim. Haven't kept a record of cheques written out, amounts drawn out of cashpoint, etc etc :eek: where do I start??

Is it worth investing in an accounts package or will excel do the job effectively if I get my head into gear??

Spirit_2

The site https://www.spendingdiary.com has a ready made diary on it. It is simple and free. No need to invest in anything. This is the place to keep a record of everything you spend.

You may find it helpful to think of the spending diary as exactly that - everything you spend. Money from the cashpoint is'nt spent until you have bought something with it.

Start from today, keep a record of everything form today onwards. If you also need help with budgeting the Budget Planner in the free tool section of the MSE site is very good.

Good luck.

yellowmonkey

Hi

I use Spendingdiary.com and i find it easy to use and access. This is really the first month i have been keeping track and it is surprising where i am wasting money. Remember to put everything you spend down even a packet of chewing gum (0.27p) and you will be surprised where your money disappears to.

Good luck

ym

david_hellier

You may find it helpful to work out all your essential outgoings as a weekly amount, excluding food. What is left you can spend on food and anything else. It is the remaining amount that is important.

If this remaining amount was say £100 per week, write this amount in your spending diary on say a Monday and keep track of what you spend (including food) by subtraction. This way you avoid overspending and it allows you to stop relying on constantly worrying about your bank balance.

Remember when converting monthly amounts to weekly divide by 4.33, not 4.

good luck

Money~Bunny_3

Arggh! I've just tried to write out a description of my budget/spending diary, but it took ages. So if you desperately want a glimpse, PM me with an e-mail address. It's based in excel, has multiple sheets, and is pretty easy to use :-)

Basically I list all my weekly budget for each category, list all my spends underneath the list, noting which category they go into, and subtract all my spends from those amounts. I add/subtract any under/overspends from next week's totals.

I keep it in my Google Docs account - you can then edit it online, anywhere there's a computer with internet access.

icela

Thanks emmie I was wondering which way was the best to do it as well, hadn't heard of the spendingdiary.com but I've tried it and its defo worth checking out.

I've just been using an old notebook and writing everything Ive spent down, absolutley everything, and an extra note about how I'm feeling when I've bought something. (For example I've noticed when I'm tired or upset I seem to manage to spend a fairly terrifying amount on glossy magazines).

xxx

emmie

thanks for this everyone, have signed up for the spending diary today

but what I'm still not sure about is what I do about all the items I haven't kept track of so far, how will I know how much money I've got ??

GettingThingsDone

I recommend David Hellier's method of subtraction, as it gives you a 'built-in' control mechanism.

I have often had spending diaries that are just effectively lists of numbers that I have spent over the month - i.e. the list didn't stop me from spending or give me any idea of when I had overspent (except after the fact when I eventually got round to totting up the numbers)

Using subtraction, it's effectively gets you into the "only spend what you've got" mindset and keeps you focussed on your budget.

Thanks to DH!!

gtd

Karmacat

Hi there

As far as I'm concerned, a budget and a spending diary are a bit different, especially at first. One of the main points of a spending diary is that you don't *know* where your money is going, so your budget may not be accurate, and you may find out (as most of us have) that you're spending wildly more than you thought you did on coffee and the odd bagel etcetc etc....

For me, I kept a spending diary meticulously for a couple of months or so, and after I'd been doing it for about a week, I started looking back and checking where I'd been spending. This was only in reference to the money I give myself each week, mind, actual cash in hand - bills are all direct debits etc - I've reduced that spend by about 40%, thats how much the spending diary helped me to realise I was wasting. I used to get £50 a week out. Now I get £40, and £10 of that is for fresh fruit and veg.

Hope this helps, and doesn't confuse the situation more!