Tracking expenses, I don\u2019t believe that anyone would say that is fun.\u00a0 In fact, that task is probably the furthest from fun, which is why so many people avoid it.\u00a0\u00a0 I haven\u2019t exactly found a way to make the tedious task any more fun but I do have some tips to make it less tedious.\u00a0 Even the most carefree of individuals can find a method of tracking their expenses that will work for them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to track some of your expenses. Utilities, loans, anything that is reoccurring an similar in amount is fairly easy to track.\u00a0 It\u2019s those other expenses, those \u201cdiscretionary\u201d expenses that can be so tough to get your hands around.\u00a0 How much do you spend in gas?\u00a0 Too much, I know.\u00a0 But do you know the average amount per week or month?\u00a0 What about groceries, entertainment, clothing, lunches, etc? \u00a0These areas are the most important to track because they are the easiest to change and tell us the most about our individual habits.<\/p>\n

The only way to know where you spend your money is to track it.\u00a0 Knowledge is power!\u00a0 Tracking your expenses will provide you with valuable information.\u00a0 It can help you reprioritize your spending, help you determine how a major life change will impact your lifestyle, and put you back in control of your spending.<\/p>\n

Here are some methods for tracking your expenses:<\/p>\n

Use Pen & Paper (or Excel).<\/b> \u00a0You could track your expenses manually, saving receipts and logging them.\u00a0 Speaking from experience that\u2019s a lot of work and takes a bit of time. \u00a0Though, can be great for those that use mostly cash.<\/p>\n

Use Financial Software. <\/b>You can use financial software like Microsoft Money or Quickbooks but those can require quite a bit of manual labor in data entry.<\/p>\n

Use One Account.<\/b> \u00a0Some people use one credit card or debit card for all or nearly all of their expenses.\u00a0 Some credit cards and financial institutions offer expense summaries and will categorize your spending for you even providing you with reports. \u00a0\u00a0This works great if you stick to one account.<\/p>\n

Use Tracking Software\/ Apps<\/b>.\u00a0 My little tracking secret is Mint.com.\u00a0 It is a free, secure, online tool you can sign up for to help you track your expenses.\u00a0 This works great in cases where you have multiple checking accounts and credit cards.\u00a0 It will aggregate everything for you and then categorize it. It\u2019s smart too!\u00a0 I find that only occasionally do I need to help if categorize an expense.\u00a0 It knows Wegmans is grocery\/food.\u00a0\u00a0 There are tons of other expense tracking apps out there besides Mint.com.\u00a0 A Google search will yield lots of results, helping you find one that works best for you.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done everything from paper and pen to Mint.com.\u00a0\u00a0 Some methods have worked better for me than others, often based on my lifestyle at the time and what was going on in my personal finances.\u00a0 The important thing is to find a method that works for you. \u00a0\u00a0The key is to keep it as simple as possible so you will stick with it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tracking expenses, I don\u2019t believe that anyone would say that is fun.\u00a0 In fact, that task is probably the furthest from fun, which is why so many people avoid it.\u00a0\u00a0 I haven\u2019t exactly found a way to make the tedious task any more fun but I do have some tips to make it less tedious.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","sharing_disabled":false,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[14,15],"tags":[32,33,31,10,30],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9rIpx-5X","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":372,"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions\/372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sarahcarrfinancial.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}