Living on Less ~ Write it Down
Many people tell me they cannot possibly find any extra money in their budget. The interesting thing is that most of these people don’t actually have a written budget!
When we decided to get gazelle intense and pay off our student loans we spent one month writing down every penny we spent. Even if we purchased a soda out of the vending machine we wrote it down.
At the end of the month I was amazed at how much money we were spending on “little” items. These amounts, by themselves seemed insignificant, five dollars, one dollar, fifty cents, but over the month they added up to a pretty significant amount.
There were also a few areas in which poor planning caused us to spend extra money. We would run out of diapers so I would run to Target just to get diapers… but I would find something super cute on clearance. This item would be something cheap, maybe only a few dollars and I couldn’t pass it up. These little trips and little impulse purchases totaled big money at the end of the month.
I challenge those of you who are serious about getting out of debt and building up your savings to track your spending, every penny for one month. When the month ends look over your log and evaluate your spending.
I am almost positive you will find ways to cut your spending. Even if it is only ten dollars a month, it is 10 extra dollars you could apply towards debt reduction or savings.
Last month while on vacation my son and I were walking behind a man who dropped a dime. He turned, saw that it was only a dime and kept walking. A Sea World employee told him he had dropped the dime, and still he kept walking.
Sure, it is only a dime, but if you walked away from a dime every day for fifty years you would walk away from almost two thousand dollars. Not one of us would keep walking if we dropped two thousand dollars, we would search for that money until we found it!
The little things do add up!
For more Frugal Fridays visit Biblical Womanhood.
When I know I have to write down a piddly little amount in my little red notebook it really makes me think twice about spending money. How is that for a very long sentence? I typed all that in one breath. And I homeschool…..sheeesh! (Not to mention I started the sentence with “and.”)
Oooh, I challenge. I accept! Will do
I will let you know!
Mrs. Micah has a similar challenge going this month, with day-by-day updates, tips, and tricks. Her challenge is to track *manually*.
Where’s My Money Going? Month
http://www.mrsmicah.com/wheres-my-money-going-month/
Speaking of picking up change, did you hear on public radio about the family that spends their afternoon walks picking up discarded change, and collects quite a lot of money!
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/01/02/change_hunters/
I’m doing this too, and am amazed at how much money I spend on the “little” things. It’s a great exercise for anyone trying to get out of debt or save. In our case, we need to save money…fast. We have very little in our emergency fund and want to build it up as quickly as possible.
It is amazing how much the little things add up!
In my opinion, everything looks different when you write it down. As you said, it’s amazing the amount of money you can find when you see it on paper… my two big cut backs have been coffee out and bookstores. I make it to go now and use my library more than I ever have.
My Great Aunt Laura wrote every penny she spent from the time she got married until she died in her 90′s! She was my wealthiest Aunt… and all of her notebooks were found in her home! By the way, who picked up the dime??
Each month I keep track of our expenses. It’s a good way to stay disciplined, and it’s great to know where all the money is going!
you are so right! I love dave ramsey! I just wish that I could get DH into it as much as I am. This past week I added all the deposits I made for one year and wouldnt you know there way like 18,000.00 un-accounted for? thats nuts I hope to yell Im debt free soon!