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Where does it all go?

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The good news is no one gets fat overnight. Instead it slowly creeps up in a bar of chocolate here and a packet of crisps there. Not having the time to exercise after baby’s born or working longer hours or a new job.

We don’t notice these things, until one day you start to wheeze when you’re walking up stairs or your trousers feel a little tight.

Little by little change happens until it becomes a nasty shock.

So it follows that just like you can’t lose 2st/28lbs/14kg overnight, you aren’t going to suddenly find yourself with loads of money to spend each week (unlessof course you win the lottery)

So the key to having more money to spend is to work out where the hell it goes!

The good news is I’m not going to ask you to create a budget.

But what I am going to do is ask you to do one thing this week and that’s keep a spending diary.

Spending diary

If you have an iPhone go to the Appstore and download the free version of iXpensit to enter all your spending (you could get the paid version, but this is a feature on making more money, so let’s go with the free version for now).

Don’t worry if you don’t have an iPhone though, you can get the same result with 6 large envelopes and and label them up as shelter (rent, mortgage, utilities), household (tv/Internet, groceries etc), transport (car, bus, rail, taxis), fun (entertainment, going out), work (stuff for work) and other (for everything else).

Get a receipt

Now when you’re out and about get into the habit of asking for a receipt for everything. If you can’t get one then write it down what you spent the money on and how much.

So by the end of the day you will have a few receipts and if you’re using the envelope system, simply file the receipts in the appropriate envelope. And if you’re using the iPhone, then it’s simply a case of entering the details into iXpensIt. Of course if you’re super organised ‘always on’ iPhone user, then you can enter the amounts you spend as you go along (even taking photos of the receipts and attaching them to the expense record)

For the next week, rinse and repeat, tracking all your expenditure for the week.

So this is what your challenge for the rest of the week – what do you think?

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8 Comments »

  • Tom | Build That List said:

    That is a really good idea. I usually get to the end of the week and wonder where all my money went. If I kept track of everything, I could actually see where I wasted my money.
    .-= Tom | Build That List´s last blog ..Finding the Perfect Temperature For Your Mailing List =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    March 15th, 2010 at 11:02 pm

    My Grandmother taught me a long time ago that it’s not the big things where you’re money goes, it’s the little spends here and there that you don’t notice. A newspaper here, a couple of coffees there. It all adds up. But the thing that makes the most difference is ruthlessless controlling the spends on the big stuff.

    Thanks for you comment Tom, I hope you give this a try as you might learn a lot.

    - 15 March 2010 at 6:20 am
  • Ben said:

    Great post Matthew.

    I’m going to try this. Thanks
    .-= Ben´s last blog ..I’ve won the Lottery =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    March 15th, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    Good luck buddy. I’m sure you’ll learn a lot.

    - 15 March 2010 at 8:23 am
  • Ryan Hanzel said:

    This is a great idea. I can tell anyone else from experience that if you do not take your finances serious before they become serious you will find yourself in a heap of definitely not cash. I have been paying my debt for the passed 4 years with little headway. This year will be the turning point and hopefully downhill over the next two years if everything goes according to plan. It is a nasty feeling watching your paycheck just float away from mistakes you made in the past.

    Great post :D
    .-= Ryan Hanzel´s last blog ..Don’t get worked up =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    March 15th, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    Hi Ryan, thanks for your honest comment. It’s good that you’re making headway in clearing your debts. Have a look at http://bigredtomatocompany.co.uk/2010/03/control-your-debt-part-2/ this might give you some tips to help pay your debts off faster. Good luck.

    - 15 March 2010 at 8:23 pm
  • Paul said:

    Matthew,

    Great tatics to follow my spending habits, it’s a bit like tracking the spending in business. I’ll probably have a go and this and see what happens. Thanks for sharing such a great idea.

    Regards

    Paul
    .-= Paul´s last blog ..Special People =-.

    Matthew Needham Reply:
    March 15th, 2010 at 10:47 pm

    Hi Paul, thanks for your message. Yes, please do give it a go and see where it leads. Could be an interesting experiment.

    Regards, Matthew

    - 15 March 2010 at 8:24 pm