Track your spending

There is an amazing thing that happens when you become aware of your spending. You actually begin to spend less with very little effort. Here is how it works:

1. Buy a small notebook and carry it everywhere you go. I like the old fashioned kind with the little strap that goes around it to keep it closed, but that's just me. I carry mine in the back pocket opposite my wallet, so the kind with the ring binding is kind of out for me. Women can carry it in their purses so it is a little for freedom in style and size. Some people prefer 3x5 cards.

2. Write down every penny that comes into or goes out of your life. This helps to weigh income against outgo, but to control your spending it is especially important to keep track of the latter. When you spend, immediately write it down in your notebook. I write down the date, then under that write what I bought and the cost. In between, I will sometimes write down small identifying details, but that's just me. It is more important to write down what, and how much.

3. At the end of the day, add it up.

4. At the end of the month, add it all up. Also break your spending out into categories. You will be shocked by all the ways money is leaking out of your life. "I spent HOW MUCH for lunches out???" "Coffee cost WHAT this month???" Whatever the area, you will find something that you will reconsider as a part of your life. Maybe I don't need that item, after all. This is the case among even the most money conscious and frugal among us, but especially for those who are struggling with their spending.

The other effect of this is that it makes you more aware of your spending. It reinforces your spending in ways you can't imagine. If you use cash, you are already pretty aware of the spending at the moment of purchase. You are counting money out, watching those dollars float away, and they are counting money back. But this helps with all forms of spending. You hand over your method of payment. "I'm spending this money." You write it in your book. "I'm spending this money." You add it up at the end of the day. "I spent that money." You add it up at the end of the month. "I spent HOW MUCH MONEY??"

This sounds restricting and like a hassle, but it isn't at all. It is actually quite liberating. It gives you total awareness over your money. Awareness leads to increased control. Control over money leads to less spending and more peace of mind.

You will find this as one of the steps in the wonderful money book:

Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence, by Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin.

Get it from your local library. If your library doesn't own it, ask your librarian to interlibrary loan it from another library.

You can also find out more about tracking your spending at the Simple Living Network. This site was started as a result of people living according to the teachings in this book, so you can find out lots of information on it there, especially in their online forums. The site is a free site. It costs nothing to go there and learn.

http://www.simpleliving.net/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140286780/qid=1149210662/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-6372803-5307169?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[i][url= ] [/url][/i]