Keep a spending record

Keep track of you money and emotions by following these tips from iVillage members.

When I began a spending diary, it was in a reckless, disorganised manner - pieces of paper, which I'd transfer into a notebook used for different purposes, so everything was jumbled together. After I began using a separate notebook for expenses and viewed it more seriously, my notations were neater and more `truthful'.

Now I use a generic week-at-a-glance book as a spending record. I followed a variation on what another member does; she budgets and pays bills by candlelight with a nice cup of tea. I've put stickers all over my spending record and use a favourite Waterman pen. I fill it in and tally it up late at night by candlelight, with music in the background. It does make it less of an unpleasant task.
22unicorn

I use my spending notebook to track how I am spending the money - every time I write a cheque, use the debit card or make a cashpoint withdrawal. When I record the expense in my chequebook, I write under the `payee' space how or why the money was spent (groceries, electricity, household items, nappies, hair appointment, dental costs, etc.). Then at the end of each month, my husband enters our register and expenses into Microsoft Money to track how our money was spent and how well we managed to follow our budget.

I haven't kept any `diaries' on my feelings about spending and saving money, but I think it would be a good therapeutic idea to try, to help put things into perspective.
Jill

I started out making daily entries in my organiser; this was a disaster. So I went to weekly spending, which was better, but such a hassle to calculate for monthly totals. So now I keep it on an Excel spreadsheet. I have categories such as `groceries' set up, and I make weekly entries in each cell; so, as well as having a running total I also use my monthly totals to chart and see how much I'm spending, and where I need to tighten my belt. Obsessive, I know.
scootergirl2000

I keep a spending diary in a simple notebook. I find this helpful, but more helpful to me has been my setting myself a generous weekly allowance to cover basics plus an `if needed' allowance that allows me to take weekend trips or make larger purchases (I spend less if I withdraw one larger sum per week than if I allow myself to run out of money and keep going to the bank for small sums).
Rosalie

My first and most important step towards sorting out my finances was setting up two accounts and using one to pay all my bills automatically. My second and very important step was to have money automatically directed from my bill-paying account to savings (I treated savings as a bill to pay). For me a spending diary is an `advanced' step, but for some people I understand it is a preliminary step.
britannia2000

I try and try and try and try to keep up my spending diary. I think it's a very valuable tool for keeping track of where my money goes, because too often the money just seems to `disappear'. Unfortunately, I think I want to deny where I spend my money, so that makes keeping the diary hard for me.

I have also tried to keep a diary detailing my emotions around spending and money management, then again I think I'm still trying to deal with all that, so seeing it in black and white is hard, so I end up `falling off the wagon' and not keeping the diary on a regular basis. Both of these continue to be challenges I'm trying to meet, because I do believe in the value and insight they'll give me. It will just take time I guess.
Mary

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