A few months back, I stopped tracking my expenses. Well, really, that should have been okay, because frankly speaking, it wasn’t at all something I intended to do for the long haul. I thought I was already financially astute enough to manage my expenses without the help of a pen and paper.
Well, to my knowledge, I was financially literate, all right. But then, I noticed, the moment I stopped putting everything that comes out of my pocket in writing just so I know where they were going, I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to religiously do – stick to my budget.
Image courtesy of BrandonSigma / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Talk about walking the talk, eh?
Now this budget I’m talking about does not include expenses to pay for the mortgage on the house, food back home, kids’ expenses in school and monthly utilities. This budget I’m referring to is my own personal budget – the money I have allotted for my personal expenses in the city.
I was going beyond, but not way beyond, if you would like to know. Still, no matter how small or big the difference was, the fact remained that I wasn’t sticking to my budget.
So now, I’m back to tracking my expenses again. And believe it or not, I am making good progress already.
Why don’t you give it a try, too? Take it from me, it curbs the impulse to overspend.
In this series:
- Budget 101: Pay Yourself First
- Budget 101: Live Within Your Means
- Budget 101: Learn To Say No
- Budget 101: Stay Away From Bad Debt
- Budget 101: Never Underestimate The Power of Small Beginnings>
- Budget 101: Assets vs. Liabilities
Related reading:
- Are You Financially Literate?
- The Truth About Money Management
- Problem With A Relative Owing You Money And Not Paying You Back?
- Inflation And The Average Consumer
- Credit Cards: The Quick And The Dead
- 10 Things Children Should Know About Money
- Are You Guilty of Coin Hoarding?
- Paul Navone: Millworker Turned Millionaire
- Emergency Fund: How Much Is Enough?
- What Is Delayed Gratification?
- Manic Payday Monday
- The Money Equation Discourse
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Thanks for the reminder about tracking expenses. Sometimes I can be quite impulsive and can’t resist spending my money that’s on hand. 🙁 I know that with tracking, you will be able to check and be able to control impulse.
Karla, thanks for dropping by. You’re right. Impulse spending, especially now that it’s Christmas time once again, can be hard to control. But by diligently tracking one’s expenses, there will always be a wait-and-pause moment where one would get the chance to think, “Do I really need this?”
Planning your finances is indeed important. We need to keep track of our daily expenses to have enough money to spend for all our needs.
Very useful insights! I think I have to really be serious about saving. I guess I’m always overspending 🙁
I think you should, Kai. While you’re still young, you have to educate yourself on the value of saving and wealth building. Time is a leverage you can still take advantage of.
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