Do you know where your money goes every month or do you wonder where it went?
A bit of a take on one of Dave Ramsey's philosophies and it resonates completely with me.
It's like time, how often do you find yourself saying, "How is it Thursday / August / 2022 already?"
Time & money go by fast unless you're stopping to enjoy, to take stock, be considered in your gratitude, slow down a bit and if you fancy it, write a little diary or journal so that each day hasn't just disappeared.
Money is the same, it comes in & goes out like the tides.
When you take stock, write a little diary or journal (a money journal - it works hand in hand with your budget) it feels so much more considered.
That quick cup of coffee with a friend, a round of drinks in the pub, a taxi home because you missed the last train (it only happened once) can mean the difference between having £100 in your account before payday or -£100.
With apple pay, contactless etc it's so easy to buy stuff without thinking.
Do you ever pay with cash?
When I do, I feel my fingers grip on that note as the other person tries to take it!
It hurts to hand it over!
I used to take out my weekly budget of £100 in cash every Friday knowing that's what I had to use. It couldn't be easier but that was 20 years ago and cash, especially post covid, isn't used so much.
I wonder if I read this in 5 years time how much of a differences there'll be again?
So how can you become more aware of each £1 / €1 / $1 that you're spending?
How about keeping a tracker?
Maybe in your banking app set up alerts to check your account daily or every couple of days.
Write it down, keep a little notepad or simply use Notes in your phone.
When you check & see the list growing, it makes you more aware of every small purchase & how much they are adding up.
Then you can make a better spending decision, right before buying something else you can double check what you've already spent. Ergo, you'll know where it's gone not where it went!
You'll find a spending tracker along with loads of other super helpful tools & templates in this, Budgeting for Beginners Toolkit. Have a quick look:
Soon enough, you will develop more of a habitual tracking of this so you will know most of the time what is happening without checking it daily.
It's not "penny pinching" or being a "scrooge" or "miserly" it's taking care of your pennies so the pounds take care of themselves!
Who's nan used to say that to them all the time?
Until next time
Love from
Lucy x
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