Examine Your Spending
When is the last time you really took a good look at the way you spend your money? If you follow a strict written budget every month then there is a good chance that you know exactly where your money is going, but most people only have a general idea of how their money is spent. They know they pay their bills and they allow some money for savings and fun, but other than that they can’t really pinpoint where their money goes.
This is especially true for people who have all their bills paid automatically through their checking accounts or through an allotment directly from their paychecks. Although this can be an efficient way to stay current, it also means that some people aren’t even bothering to open their statements anymore. Instead, they simply mark in their checkbooks or make a note in their software program of the amount of the bill without ever really taking a look at why the bill is a certain amount.
If you haven’t looked at your spending in a while, it may be time to sit down and have a look at where your money is going. Open all your bill statements and take a look at your checking account statement to study your debit card purchases.
Bill Statements: What types of fees are you paying? Are you being charged the correct amount? Is there a way to make the bill less every month?
Bank Statements: Where does your money go? Add up some of the recurring expenses you have (lunches out, coffee, impulse purchases) to get a realistic view of how much money you have the ability to save each month if you curb your spending.
You also want to make sure you are saving enough each month. Not only do you want to have a substantial emergency fund in place, but you should also put money into a retirement account every month. Does your unnecessary spending prevent you from saving as much as you should?
Examine your spending periodically, whether it’s a strict schedule of once a month or instead something you do every six months. The important thing is to take the time out to actually have a look at your spending to figure out how you can stop spending so much money and start saving more.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
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