Do you keep track of your expenses?

@pierrella (1087)
Philippines
April 21, 2010 9:30pm CST
I am thrifty and I want to save money. In order to do that, I keep track of my monthly expenses. I write down my expenses for each day and calculate them at the end of the month to see how much I have in my savings. This way, I am able to save more money. Do you also keep track of your expenses? For what reason?
1 person likes this
18 responses
@JasperTore (1275)
• Philippines
22 Apr 10
yeah, i do it specially if there's a need like i have to buy something...it really helps a lot and i don't have to worry where my money goes since i can track them...i also save money to invest in little business which will earn me more
@pierrella (1087)
• Philippines
27 Apr 10
I agree. But sometimes it takes a lot of money to be able to invest on something.
• Philippines
22 Apr 10
Yes, I keep track of my expenses because right now food and other necessities are getting expensive. I also have a baby turning 10 months next week and she needs a lot of things, from food to vaccination. I want to limit my spending so that I'd still be able to set aside a certain amount which I can use in the future, such as for building a new house or for the education of my child.
1 person likes this
@acie_21 (5633)
• Philippines
22 May 10
yes.... its very easy for me..cause my hubbys pay day is every week...heheheh! im very addict when it comes to saving money!heheh! im kinda thrifty ...and i always make sure i put money in my bank every month.. or as much as possible every week!heheh! i was born to be thrifty much more that im already married! heheheh!im saving money for my children future.. and i dont want to feel any difficulties when it comes to money.. thats why ..as much as early i save money ... to avoid any short comings... money is kinda big issue for me..heheh! i make sure my family has food to eat everyday... life is short you know...! wwwwwwwhehehehehhee! cheers!
@mspitot (3824)
• Philippines
22 Apr 10
yes, i do it to save my money and to know which things do i need to buy later.
1 person likes this
• United States
22 Apr 10
Yes, I keep track of all my expenses. Not only does it help me save money, I like to know exactly where all my money is, or where it has gone. That way there's no guesswork.
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@Fertogo (43)
• United States
22 Apr 10
I usually do just so I don't spend too much. I don't want to be running out of money when I really want to buy something important and that is why I always keep track of my expenses
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@mishyyu (217)
• Philippines
26 Apr 10
this is one habit I would like to do for myself but I just can't be motivated, diligent and initiative enough to do it.. I call myself kind of laid-back.. I can be thrifty when I need to and I can control my spending patterns if I have to or feel like, but spend time to sit with a calculator and list down all my expenses and balance my actual cash on hand, is something I'm sort of lazy to do. so I end up short of my savings. I'm even quite jealous with people who do this habitually 'coz for those friends I know who does this happened to be very good in handling their money and seem to have an increasing savings account.. so how do you do it by the way?
• United States
23 Apr 10
I wish I could get myself to be that organized. I would probably faint at how much i spend in convenience stores. The last 3 yrs I have started off the new year with the intentions of keeping track of all our money, and? Nada. I even talked my husband into getting quickbooks for us to do this. SMILE. It just sits all alone in my puter. Maybe next year.
• India
28 Apr 10
Of course, I do!!! I am a Financial Planner and I have to do this. If I do not do this, then I have no right to be in the profession in which I am in. However, I also tell, request, beg, force, insist all my clients to also do the same. But, sadly, majority of them, begin well but slowly get back to their old habits. Keeping track of your expenses is as important as keeping track of your income/investments.
• United States
23 Apr 10
yes i have to write everything down i do not have the luxurys to be thrifty every penny counts
@evepin (721)
• Philippines
7 May 10
yup ever since i keep track of my expenses, especially now that we are a single income household. i try to be within our budget but sometimes we go voerboard. now though i need to be stricter so that our savings will not be touched. hopefully our savings will grow soon.
• Philippines
23 Apr 10
yes me too,we have a business so i keep on tracking my daily expenses..and it really works for me,because i can see my savings through it,and i think tracking your expenses keeps you out of stress.because you already know where you put money and how much do you keep.
@ghosed (1)
23 Apr 10
Yes, keeping of monthly expenses details is a good habit. We can know our monthly cash requirements, though the total expenses may be included some non-recurring and out of budget expenses. Till that it helps us to monitoring about our savings. We should also keep in mind that our income is not flexible and that is almost fixed. So keep that thing in mind and also considering savings, which is almost fixed, we have to utilise the money.
• United States
22 May 10
I should seriously keep track of my expenses. At the current time, I don't. I plan on doing so in the future though. I want to know how much I spend each month so I can cut down on spending the following month. I think it's a great idea to keep track of all the money that is spent.
• Philippines
22 Apr 10
I do track down expenses but only when i received my salary. I first pay the bills and give money to my parents as our budget at home, keep my transportation allowance and then the expenses I will have. I want to track down where is my salary used up to. And it gives me ideas of what I have to buy and not to buy on my other pay day.
@myliezl0903 (2726)
• Philippines
22 Apr 10
hi there! well, sad to say but i don't track my expenses and it got to the point that when i bought something that is out of budget i only get alarmed when i don't have any money in my wallet. so i bought a planner and take down all notes on my expenses. that is my resolution for this year.
@catalyser (531)
• Malaysia
22 Apr 10
Unfortunately, no. I don't keep track of what I spend and as a result, I don't really remember where my money goes haha. All I know is that I am using too much of it
• Philippines
22 Apr 10
I always keep track on my expenses. I also write down all my expenses for each month so that I would know if my expenses are more than what im earning.