Your Money Should Matter

For the Record

Written by: Fred Waller and Fiona Pyszka

Last month you learned about 12 things that you could do in 2008 to help improve your finances.  This month let’s talk about number 1 on the list.

For many of us keeping track of our spending for a day is hard enough as it is, much less for a whole 30 days.  That might seem impossible maybe even silly.  The fact is that most people come to the end of their month and wonder where all the hard earned dollars they worked for went.  They still did not payoff bills that were due, or even help reduce current debts. Instead, they still have month left with money gone.

Every successful and honest business or organization has a record of all their income and all their spending. In order for them to keep being successful, they must give an account for the bottom line “the money that they generate”.  If you were asked what your bottom line is, could you say.

One baby step to take to have a handle on your bottom line spending amount and also your spending habit would be to do step 1 – “Write down what you spend everyday for the next 30 days”.  Do it and see what you discover about yourself and your family.

A practical way to fulfill this step would be to have an individual small notebook for every member of the family.  Consider giving a reward (something simple) to everyone that correctly and diligently fulfill keeping track of their spending.  If you have kids with allowances, bring them in on the challenge too.  What better time to learn to develop good habits than now.