Are you overwhelmed by the work it takes to keep track of your spending? Are you always trying to find lost receipts, remember forgotten expenses, or make random guesses on where you used your money? If so, you are not alone. This is one of the many challenges that families face when trying to keep track of their money. To make matters worse, there are a number of families who don’t even care about where their money goes.
Luckily, if you are reading this post, you are one step ahead of your peers who are apathetic. There are a number of ways that you can make it easier on yourself by simplifying how you spend your money. I’m going to convince you to do a certain number of things, but instead, give you a number of different options on how you can simplify your spending.
All Credit Cards
One of the easiest ways to keep a close eye on your spending without driving yourself crazy is to use credit card all the time. There will be an occasional vendor that will not accept this type of payment, but other than that, it will give you a “paper trail”. That way if you ever forgot where you spent your money or better yet, if you want to analyze your spending for a given month, you will have the credit card statements to assist you. Many people prefer cash (regardless of where they live or what currency they use), but this take a lot more work to keep track of.
When you start using credit cards, you just have to remember to pay off your statement each and every month so as not to cost yourself even more money each year. But, don’t let this deter you from using credit cards.
Checks
Despite what you may think, checks are still an acceptable form of payment. Not only do they provide a paper trail like credit cards so that you can keep track of your spending, but they also force you to keep an eye on your balance. This means that you won’t ever overspend (if you are paying attention) and it helps you be conscious of how much you are spending with each transaction. It won’t be as convenient as using a credit card (it takes a lot longer to write out a check than to swipe your card), but it will still be much simpler than using a variety of ways.
Regardless of the method that you use to simply your spending and tracking your expenses, the most basic rule is that you need to think through what is going to work for you. Everyone is different and everyone needs to personalize their own plan. Find out what works for your and be conscious of not spending your money in ways that will make it more difficult to track.