Adapted from MU Office for Financial Success Finance Tip of the Week blog post by Lucy Schrader, HES Associate State Specialist and Building Strong Families Program Coordinator, University of Missouri Extension
Spending money is easy. Keeping track of it takes more time. The time, however, is very well worth it as it will help you manage your finances, your stress level and your life. In this fast-paced world of automatic withdrawals, credit cards, debit cards, quick buys and online purchasing, people do not always realize where their money is going. This holds true for adults, teens and youth.
Tracking your expenses gives you a better picture of how you spend your money and helps you decide what you want and how you can reach your financial goals. It is the first step in creating a financial plan for you and your family. It is so important to involve kids and teens to teach them to track their money, too!
After tracking your spending, you can make a budget for how you want to spend and save your money. When you know what you want to do (get out of debt, save for a trip, save for college, buy day-to-day items), you see more clearly what is important to you and what is not. You will be empowered to make better decisions, to avoid impulse buys and to save, so that you can have and do the things that are important to you.
Where to start?…
Before you sign up for a money management system, find out the following…
Remember that it can take several weeks or months to get into the full swing of tracking your expenses…
For a simple system, use four categories as a starting point. This is all it takes to start tracking where your money is going and how/where you can make changes. Here are four basic categories…
There is a lot of helpful information, tips and resources in the full version of this article at http://missourifamilies.org/
