While I'm obsessing here...

[mousme]

Despite the fact that I'm no longer hurting for money, I get the impression that I need to be more on top of my finances than I currently am. I mean, all my bills get paid on time now, and everything gets filed away neatly, but I don't keep a close record of where my money goes: I only have a general idea.

I'm thinking of getting myself a ledger, or something. That way I could, if properly disciplined, keep track of all the money that goes in and out. I'd have to keep receipts more carefully, but it would help me to see where my money goes and identify potential spending problems (at a guess: books and DVDs, since they're my primary "leisure" expenditures). Not that I know how to use a proper accounting ledger or anything, but I bet I could learn.

So, dear flist ('cause I haven't asked enough questions lately :P), how do you manage your household finances?

Comments

Many great suggestions... May I add to them?

[blackbuffet.livejournal.com]

I also use a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which keeps a precise ledger of EVERY PENNY I spend. If I hand over a penny to a beggar on the street, it goes in the ledger. After doing that for a trimester, I look back at my spending patterns for each month to analyse where my money is going EXACTLY and where I need to improve. This had helped me drastically improve from one semester to another as I stop wasting money where I throw it away and try to save it instead. For sure, one month to another... there can be some excess here and some deficit there but over a three month period, you will have a pretty good idea where you are going and how you want to balance out better for the following months. (Last but not least: The best piece of advice I can give you is to write it all in every night. Don't skip. Don't cheat. Don't wait a week to tally it all up. Day by day. It will make you more sensible to where the money is going and how fast it is flowing...)