track my spending

Spending got all crazy again this past month. I need to start the photo documentation process in July again.

Just to know where is my money going. I’ll be doing it daily for 30 days, To get a hang of it. Finances is one of the things i’d like to be organized in for an overall organized lifestyle. Plan to record major financial spending later in life.

I sort of forgot about this and now I’m facing an enormous visa bill. I like to just blame Visa – but, seriously, I have a problem. I sure as sh>t shouldn’t be spending crazy amounts of money when my job is super questionable as to whether it will be around next week. Erggh. More tracking. Less spending.

I’m not really tracking this week due to Thanksgiving.

More of the same kind of stuff. Coffee, Groceries, Food – mostly.

Above is an image of everything I spent money on during week 1. I’m spending a lot of money on coffee and food. Also, car stuff (DMV, repairs, gas).

I really have no idea where my money is going. The next few months I’d like to track my money better. I plan on updating this to include images of where my money is going. It may help me identify some obvious places where I can start saving. It’s not really intended to be just about money – I’m not really a numbers person – but maybe the visual representations may help improve my spending habits.

I’m currently using my cell phone to track all my daily expenses. I need to further find a more efficient way to keep track of as well analyze the data so that I could have a more concrete idea of my finance and eventually save more money.

1. I like the program Moneydance. Google it. It’s free.
2. You have to get receipts for as much as possible. Where I have the hardest time is cash, far and away, so I try not to use it.
3. If you commit to doing this regularly (daily is best so you don’t get overwhelmed), you will have a rich record of where your money is being spent. Then, you will see what you want to change!! :)

And again, the results are depressing. Well, I had to buy books, so that was a big chunk of it—almost $80, and I’m not done purchasing them. Then I made a stop at Victoria’s Secret which sucked $125 away. Went to Disneyland (reduced price w/season pass) with a visiting relative, bought overpriced food there + peanut brittle for mom (it’s a tradition) = just under $50. Fitness pass for the entire quarter = $25. Then about $15 on entertainment and the same for food, all snacks or junk food or food I get on campus when I’m too lazy to walk back to the dining halls.

So you can add it up in your head, but it is a sad number. I did get a little revenue via resale of old textbooks/books and blog ads/PPP, but it’s not much. My parents are against my getting an actual job, because they’d like me to focus on my studies, which makes sense. But I think it’s never to early to practice financial planning skills. Did I mention my mom was an accountant?