Financial Smarties: Know How Much You Spend

Q.  What do you spend money on?

A.  Nothing. I swear. Oh well maybe an iced coffee every day on my way to work... oh and lunch out every Wednesday and Friday.  And I buy a lottery ticket on Saturdays.  I gas up my car on Sundays….

No, none of those items are a lot, but they can add up to more than you realize.  Just like our previous post Financial Smarties: Face Your Fear by Knowing Where You Stand - we need to take a little bit of time to Know What You Spend.  If we plan to face our financial future and make it better, then this is an important step that we can no longer ignore.

There are two ways to do this:

1. You can track all your expenses for a month.  Every time you spend, write it down or make a list on your phone - how much you spent and on what.

2. If you are a debit card user, you can take a look back at a recent monthly statement and make your list based on that.

Then at the end of the week or month - add it all up in categories such as:

• Eating Out / Coffee

• Entertainment

• Gasoline

• Groceries

• Manicures

• Cigarettes

• Donations

• Clothing & Shoes

• Car Maintenance

• Pet Care

• Child Care

Do the best you can to track accurately, but if you are off a bit, it is okay.  We just want to get a good idea of what we spend. And don't quit. It's a bit of work, but it's worth knowing.

Another pat on the back.  You’ve taken another step towards knowing your financial picture and being a financial smarty!  Hang on to this list.  We’ll be coming back to it in the coming steps.