Expense Tracking

Tracking your expenses on a regular basis is key to getting an accurate picture of where your money is really going — and where you’d like it to go instead. It’s an essential part of creating a budget, taking control of your money and financial future.

What’s more, keeping a careful eye on your spending may help you to avoid overspending. It’ll also help you catch any unexpected or fraudulent purchases on your bank or card statements. Here are some expense tracking tips:

Check your account statements. 
Paper or online, review all your accounts at least monthly, including your deposit account and any credit cards you have. Getting a consolidated overview of all your accounts will help you identify where you’re spending.

Collect all your receipts. 
Keeping track of cash purchases can be difficult because when it’s gone, it’s gone. Save your receipts and set aside time to record each cash, card and online purchase or use a banking or budgeting app so you’ve got an accurate overview of your finances once the month ends.

Categorize your expenses. 
Group your expenses according to car, house, children, dining out and so on. This will give you a further level of detail on what you’re spending and where. It may be an eye-opening exercise which can reveal areas where you can cut back or do without entirely. 

Record your outgoings. 
Keeping track of what you’re spending can be as simple as a keeping a log in a notebook, the note-taking app on your smartphone, a spreadsheet or a dedicated app. Most online bank accounts track and organize electronic transactions automatically and with many you can either view online or download the data as a spreadsheet. If your records are clear and you update them consistently, they will allow you to track your outgoings over time and make projections for the coming month, quarter, or year.

Make improvements. 
Once you know where your money is really going, you may be surprised. Consider how you can adjust your habits to save money. This is more likely to be around discretionary or variable expenses like clothing and meals out, rather than fixed expenses like mortgage, rent or utilities, which don’t change much month to month.