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April 3, 2020 · Leave a Comment

How To Track Expenses

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Budget· Budget Tips· Printable· Saving· Ways We Save

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I’ve talked about how to start budgeting here before, but how do you know whether you’re sticking to that budget?  First and foremost, you need to make it a habit of coming back to your budget.  But second, you need to start tracking your expenses.

How To Track Expenses

What Is Expense Tracking?

Expense tracking is a super simple way of looking at where you spent your money over a certain amount of time.

If you’re spending more in one area than you think you are, it can throw your whole budget off, and you will find yourself trying to make up for that in other ways.  Some people do this by reducing other categories to make sure their budget stays zero-based, while others tend to overspend.

Expense tracking is how to make sure you have reasonable budgeting categories set up for your spending habits, and that you are sticking to the amount you have budgeted without overbudgeting.

How To Start Expense Tracking

There are a few different ways you can track your expenses.  Some people prefer to use programs like Excel, Google Sheets, while others like using Mint or YNAB*.

I have tried other methods out there and have learned that while digital systems are great, I am old fashioned and personally prefer to use good old paper, pen, and highlighter.  We use a Google Calendar for tracking when our bills are due, but I still prefer to use a Bill Pay Checklist that I can fill in throughout the year.  I have a Google Sheet with our estimated paycheck budget breakdown, but I still come back to pen and paper for our actual paycheck budgeting.

You can grab your copy of the budget workbook I use here!

When I set up our paycheck budget, I make sure that there are expense trackers with that paycheck budget breakdown.  Nothing ruins the budgeting mood like having to go search for another paper.

Now when it’s time to use our expense tracker, I do things a little differently.  The first is that I set up two expense trackers: one for cash expenses and the other for debit expenses.  Not all of our budgeting categories are paid for in cash, and I don’t want to double-count expenses later on.

How To Track Expenses

When it’s time to mark expenses, I color code them so that I can see which categories have the most spending.  I love using these Stabilo highlighters* for this job.  In the end, it’s always our grocery budget that has more expenses than any other category we currently have.

How to not use your Expense Tracker

But most importantly, I do not use our expense tracker as a checkbook register.  In other words, I do not use it to see what is left in our bank account; I have a Google Sheets spreadsheet for that.

Expense tracking is not used to see what is left from our zero-based budgeted paycheck; I have a separate piece of paper for that.

Instead, I use it to keep running tallies of our categories for the paycheck.  This way I can easily see how we’re progressing towards, and when we’re getting close to, our budgeted amount.

View this post on Instagram

 

When using my Expense Tracker, I do things a little differently.⁣ .⁣ I separate debit expenses from cash expenses, that way I’m not double counting cash expenses.⁣ .⁣ I color code expenses that way I can easily see which category has the most spending.⁣ .⁣ But most importantly, I do not use it as a checkbook register. In other words, I don’t use it to see what is left in our account. I use it to keep running tallies of our categories throughout the month. This way I can easily see how we’re progressing, and when we’re getting close to our budgeted amount.⁣ .⁣ How do you use your expense tracker?⁣ .

A post shared by @ makingcentsmatter on Feb 8, 2020 at 10:47am PST


This method also makes it super simple to see if we need to reevaluate our budget categories and amounts for the next paycheck.

To help you keep track of your expenses, I created a free Expense Tracker for you in my resource library.  To download one for yourself, click here to sign up.

If you’d prefer to get my 80-page budgeting workbook, with an expense tracker, you can click here to find out more.

Do you prefer to track your expenses on paper or digitally?  Let me know in the comments below!

How To Track Expenses

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makingcentsmatter

makingcentsmatter
Payday is today! Actually, payday was Friday the 1 Payday is today! Actually, payday was Friday the 12th because we completely forgot today is a bank holiday in the US. The feeling of being paid and not needing it is a nice one.⁠
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Here's what our paycheck needs to get us through for bills until March 14th. For a full look at our budget over the next month, head over to my budget with me on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rb8uyi1-rNc⁠
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#monthlyincome #monthlybudget #monthlybudget #zerobasedbudget #payday #budgetwithme #budgeting #budgettips #budgetcalendar #frugalliving #savingmoney #paycheck #makingcentsmatter #debtfreejourney #debtfreeprogress
This weekend was focused on a pantry shop and meal This weekend was focused on a pantry shop and meal plan creation! This meal plan to get us to our February payday. We also picked fast meals, because it's a busy two weeks between doctor's appointments,. Academic Decathalon, dance, and drama. I'm unsure we'll be able to shop on payday, hence the extras.⁠
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Total spent: $112.39 for items to get us through this and lunches.⁠
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Keep in mind, just over $112 for 12 meals isn't sustainable for our family, just in times when we need to stretch the last bits of our monthly income. I really wish $112 was enough to feed two teenaged boys in our household.⁠
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The point being... do what works for you, and your situation based on your location. Don't try to fit yourself into someone else's situation!⁠
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#mealplan #mealplanning #frugalliving #frugalmom #makingcentsmatter #savingmoney #monthlyincome #budgeting #budgetmom #groceryshop
January's real numbers:⁠ .⁠ House: $511.13⁠ January's real numbers:⁠
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House: $511.13⁠
Citi: $720⁠
D NelNet: $100⁠
K NelNet: $100⁠
K Chase: $150⁠
Explorer: $343⁠
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Extra Payment to Citi: $500⁠
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Noteworthy... our car payment had a late fee assessed because the mail was SLOWED down over Christmas. Three headaches later, and we potentially have online banking finally set up with them. It is still a headache. And we are never taking another car loan out with this bank!⁠
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How was January?⁠
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#makingcentsmatter #debt #debtfreejouney #debtfreeprogress #debtfreecommunity #realbudget #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance #personalfinancetips #financialfreedom
Sometimes in order to see progress, you need to ta Sometimes in order to see progress, you need to take a step back.
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I'll be honest, I didn't think that we got this far in 2020. With everything going on - and more importantly, everything NOT going on - we didn't keep up with this every month. We just threw what we could at our goal. I'm simply amazed at how far we came.
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Things are still hectic, and I'm simply mentally exhausted between remote learning, extended remote learning, offset quarantining children... it goes on and on.
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But I also cannot wait to see what strides we will make in 2021.
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#makingcentsmatter #debtfreejouney #debtfreeprogress #savingmoney #savings #frugalliving #frugalblogging #budgeting #monthlyincome #zerobasedbudget #financialgoals #personalfinance
This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid This is what school looks like when it's a hybrid model, and your house does not have unlimited space. I was standing in our kitchen when I took this picture, the kids behind me making lunch.
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School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I School is in session, the garden is slowing, and I’ve finally realized I haven’t shared our payoff numbers for July or August. Yeah……
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Please keep in mind, we are paid monthly on the 15th, but we don’t go by a “monthly” budget. So I have to go back and look at these numbers based off their due dates in the calendar. Because our pay falls in the middle of the month, I can’t tell you what portion of our income went to debt. It’s going to vary paycheck to paycheck anyways because our priorities vary with each check. Nothing is ever the same month to month, and pay to pay.
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That said, inJuly we paid off $2,694.43.
In August we paid off $1,673.40.
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While I wait for the canner to finish the last rou While I wait for the canner to finish the last round... I rearranged our recipe binder. It's only taken me 8 or so years. 🤣😶😭
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Good news, I'm almost caught up! Bad news, the garden has more.
Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins Super busy here... but I wanted to share that wins can come in super small packages. I thought I'd spend $380 to clean the band instruments in this house. I ended up spending $234. So the remaining $146 can go to reimbursing what I pulled from our EF.
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No matter the win, celebrate it!
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What are some wins you have had lately?
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