Keep a tab on my finances: 1.Keep a budget. 2. Always have saving goals and keep them. ;-) 3. Invest and manage savings.

I have kinda given up on budgeting. I think I have reached that happy medium where I earn more than I spend and save/invest fair bit. And besides its an ongoing thing…managing finances so don’t need this on me list for now

So for all of feb I kept the notebook, and I’ve been real stingy on my spending since I’m going to NYC and want to spend stuff there so I didnt spend as much as normal but I did write down probably 95% of my spendings, which includes everything. So I think that is good. Now to just keep this up!

I also have to do taxes sometime… yuk-tastic

I started writing my expenses down in a notebook. Expenses meaning everything I spend money on.

I was reading RealSimple magazine today and they had a section on how to keep a budget from readers points of view. One reader said something about using cash for everything, which I am working towards. But she had a neat spin-off of that idea, which I hadn’t though of before:

“At the beginning of the year, my husband and I determine where all our money would be going and made envelopes for all of the spending categories (groceries, car insurance, gifts, etc.), as well as how much each category would be allotted in each pay period. When we get paid, we withdraw that amount from the ATM and put cash in each envelope. Then, after all the grocery money is spent for the month, for example, we live on what is in the pantry and the fridge. As new expenses arise, we add new envelopes and start designing funds. This has allowed us to see exactly where our money goes and keeps us from spending unnecessarily. As a result, we are able to live on my husband’s income and save mine.”

Seems like a good idea to me, gonna try it!