For those of you who track every spend

Sea_Shell

It would seem logical to have categories that correspond to where you believe your money is going, especially if you have an eye to potentially reducing it.

So takeaways etc.

It has to work for you, no one else.


Eg. We hardly have any, so we don't need to track them and can just lump them in together, but then I'm not you 😉

blue.peter

B0bbyEwing said:

@blue.peter thank you for the offer. You can put here or send via PM if you don't mind.

PM sent. Hope it helps you.

strandedinaber

I had stopped tracking every spend last year when my outgoings were comparatively low, but have picked it up again this year. I use clearcheckbook and pay for the paid version (£4). For me, the "forecast outgoings" tool alone is worth it. I don't split down every expense (e.g. a Sainsburys receipt could cover groceries, Home and Garden, gifts). I just allocate it to the most prominent category for that expense and figure it all evens out.

I have both "parent" and "child" categories, so it's rare something doesn't fall into one of those. Eg. The living expenses category has clothes, digital utilities and health and exercise. On misc, I'm trying something new this month: have withdrawn a certain amount of cash and anything miscellaneous/small will get paid for in cash. If it costs more, then it needs a category so I can track it.

sausage_time

I track all my spending and have data going back 35 years!  I kept my categories pretty broad (Food, Car, DIY, Hols, Kids, Pets, Bills and Misc).  I regret not splitting Food into "food shopping", "alcohol", "eating out", "takeaway" or similar.  Part of the reason is I could not be bothered splitting out booze from food at the supermarket, or wine/beer from the inevitable burger in the pub.  If I need to know why July 2023 was high for food for example I have the data.  Misc is clothes and shoes mainly.  DIY includes gardening - basically anything we would not take with us if we move house.

I track using custom software I wrote for various PDA and phone platforms over the years, with the data uploaded to master files monthly.

Michael242000

Hey everyone!

Loving the insights on managing finances! I’ve experimented with a few systems, trying to find one that really fits my habits. Lately, I’ve been using a tool that’s great for visualizing where my money goes—it’s been a real eye-opener and helps with budgeting more effectively.

By the way, if you’re curious, it’s called SellerMagnet. Always keen to hear about other tools or tips anyone here might have found useful. What’s worked for you?

Cheers and happy saving!

Zanderman

Michael242000 said:

Hey everyone!

Loving the insights on managing finances! I’ve experimented with a few systems, trying to find one that really fits my habits. Lately, I’ve been using a tool that’s great for visualizing where my money goes—it’s been a real eye-opener and helps with budgeting more effectively.

By the way, if you’re curious, it’s called SellerMagnet. Always keen to hear about other tools or tips anyone here might have found useful. What’s worked for you?

Cheers and happy saving!

SellerMagnet is an e-commerce tool - seems unlikely to be appropriate for tracking personal spend.  You promoted it last week in your post in the Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) thread so I assume you know this.