How do you track daily spending?

[MsPeacock]

I started w/ daily tracking back in January and sort of fell off the wagon in April/May - looking to get back on. I initially tried Mint, and typical of my luddite ways, really did not like messing w/ electronics to keep track and found it a bit user unfriendly for me. (It also seemed to open up a load of spam emails about va loans and credit cards and such and I finally deactivated the account and they went away).

Then I tried a log book to carry with me - which was good for about 2 months... but not perfect. And I found it very time consuming to try to rectify my account statement (with a lot of automatic payments and checks and charges for online purchases) w/ the log book and then put it all on a spreadsheet for tracking purposes.

Then I tried just writing things on the spreadsheet .... which was even less successful.

And w/ all I tend to lose track of cash spent (vs. charges that are easy to track) for things that I have to pay cash for (e.g. the occasional teenage dog walker if I have a very long work day). Further complication comes from some shared costs that I pay but am compensated for later (e.g. childcare cost which is shared w/ ex-H)


So... - I'm not doing well w/ daily tracking in general and looking for some ideas and suggestions for what has worked well for others. I really liked having the spreadsheet and totals at the end of the month. I've avoided jumping into YNABN because Mint was a bit of a failure for me and I am not sure it would be any better.

Thanks in advance for ideas/suggestions!

[Bettis]

I agree with not messing with electronics since it feels like you are more in control by going manual and writing stuff down.  Good job sticking with it for 4-5 months.

I use a notebook with columns for Date, Description, Spent ($), Income ($), and a running total.  I circle the incomes and total them separately so I have two running totals in that last column.  It make sense to also have a notes column if you want to put in things like the principal payment on a house to count towards savings rate.  It's annoying at times but if you keep the book in a regular place, it shouldn't be too hard to remember what you spend in a day.  Naturally, get receipts for whatever you can just in case.  My wife and I have tried it, fallen off the wagon, but caught back on in Feb so we are in month 5.  We've never had a month go onto a second page (only front and back) so it's pretty easy for us to keep it organized, just not easy for us to stay out of the red :-P

[deborah]

I have a credit card that I pay off in full every month and put as much as I can onto. It tells me what I spent on almost everything.

[iamlindoro]

I use Quicken.  I keep my receipts when I'm "out and about" during the day, and log them at night before bed.  I love Quicken because of the downloading of transactions (which get auto-matched to the manually entered ones) and because it allows me to schedule all known and recurring transactions and see what my financial state will be in a month, or six months, or even a year.  Did I just make a decision that will cause me a problem a month from now?  I'll see it and be able to compensate.

Quicken also has a nice mobile app that allows you to log your purchases at the time of purchase, take a photo of the receipt, and just hit the sync button when you get back to the desktop app.

It also tracks all my investments, property values, students loans, and other stuff.  I really find it a relaxing ritual to log things in the evening and download transactions in the morning.  It doesn't feel like too much work at all, and I feel like it allows me to be more aggressive with my savings (because I know if throwing an extra $1000 into my taxable investments will cause a problem months down the road).

[lizzzi]

I'm not very electronic either, but started YNAB in January when I could get it at a big sale price through Steam. I'm partially successful with it…I just use it to record and track my spending…I know it is supposed to be good for lots more than just that. For my net worth, I track everything every week or ten days in a speckled college composition notebook.

Pros: I record everything daily, so can't conveniently "forget" about over-spending on  frippery foo-foos.  It's right there in black and white. And sometimes it shows me that I  can afford a frippery foo-foo.
 It's clear as a bell when I've run out of money for, let's say…gifts or entertainment. Oops…have to borrow from the gas station money, and promise never to do it again. And if the net worth notebook figures are gradually increasing…which they are…hey, I know I'm getting somewhere.

Cons: None, really.

[Mrs.LC]

We use Personal Capital to track everything - checking account, credit cards, expenses, investments, etc.  Like having it all in one place.  It is free to use and available for Windows, Android, and iOS devices.  Years ago we used the pen and paper method but found that it was easy to miss an expense or two. 

[MDM]

I have a credit card that I pay off in full every month and put as much as I can onto. It tells me what I spent on almost everything.

I use Quicken.  ... I love Quicken because of the downloading of transactions ... and because it allows me to schedule all known and recurring transactions and see what my financial state will be in a month, or six months, or even a year.  Did I just make a decision that will cause me a problem a month from now?  I'll see it and be able to compensate.
...
It also tracks all my investments, property values, students loans, and other stuff.  ...

deborah & iamlindoro summed it up.  Also, although it could be better, Quicken's lifetime planner is a decent FIRE calculation tool.

[cripzychiken]

Try going less often than daily.  Maybe only check every 2-3 days.  you've shown that you can do it for 4+ months, so you have the control in place.  Maybe having to check it less often will help you be better able to deal with the stupidiness/fidgetiness of the program you try to use.

Try to only use your credit card (and pay it off in full each month) this will make it easier to track as most programs will track it for you (you might have to categorize, but that's it)

For cash expenses, most Mint type programs allow you to add a transaction - so do that.  Or just add a weekly "Cash Paid out" item and itemize it in the notes section ($25 to dog walker, $5 for parking...) 

[MsPeacock]

Thank you! I will check out the electronic suggestions.

It also occurs to me that I am deeply attached to my Dayrunner (going on 25+ years w/ this thing) and maybe I can find a page that would suit for tracking and stick it in the Dayrunner. Because I know I will have the planner w/ me and I use it often (like multiple times per day), so that may work better than the separate log book I was trying to use.

I need a system - like putting the receipts in one place, logging the stuff on a regular schedule (as PP noted they do it the same time every evening).

[letired]

I 2nd the suggestion for YNAB, but it isn't for everyone.

I record transactions at the point of sale. IE when I get my receipt for gas, I pull out my phone and record it as soon as I get back in the car. When I go to the grocery store, I tuck the receipt in my phone case and as soon as I get in the car, I record it. I'm also attached to my phone, so maybe not for you. However, if you save receipts, you could easily do once a week (or less) depending on how strict you wanted to be with the budget.

Disclaimer: I sort of am in the obsessive checking stage, but if I wasn't, I could easily get by with reconciling everything else (recurring bills, paychecks, etc) once or twice a month. It would probably be more if you needed to tweak your budget, because you can only do that from the Desktop version (and maybe the tablet version, but I don't have one so I don't know).

[Baron235]

Use mint, but then export the data to a format you want whether it be handwritten or exel spreadsheet.  Mint will automatically get everything and then you can export it.  Seems much easier then writing everything down.

[realityinabox]

I'll put a third in for YNAB.  It is super useful for spending,  especially if you are already manually tracking your spending by hand.  A lot of people don't like that you have to manually enter expenses, but this apparently won't phase you.  I also like their whole budgeting system.  I'd suggest checking out their introductory videos to make sure you like their system.  If you aren't using their budgeting system, their software would be a bit clunky, IMO.

I 2nd the suggestion for YNAB, but it isn't for everyone.

I record transactions at the point of sale. IE when I get my receipt for gas, I pull out my phone and record it as soon as I get back in the car. When I go to the grocery store, I tuck the receipt in my phone case and as soon as I get in the car, I record it. I'm also attached to my phone, so maybe not for you. However, if you save receipts, you could easily do once a week (or less) depending on how strict you wanted to be with the budget.

This is a great idea.  I usually do it like once or twice a month, but working through a large pile of receipts can get tedious, so if I wait too long, I end up waiting even longer.  I'll have to install the phone app and check it out.

[schoopsthecat]

I use Goodbudget.  I think it does everything YNAB does (in a slightly different way) but is totally free...great app both mobile and web.

[forummm]

I don't do daily tracking. That sounds like a huge pain. I do monthly tracking. I add up everything spent (almost all of it is on my rewards CC) and categorize it in Excel.

[zinethstache]

I don't feel spammed by financial emails and have used mint for about a year and a half now.

Because you are a day planner user, perhaps you can just put your receipts in it as you receive them. My DH keeps a tiny spiral bound notebook in his vehicles for logging mileage and labor on our properties, you could try something like that, it took him awhile to get disciplined at pulling out that notebook EVERY time he went to a property or home box store for something.

I am an advocate of mint it does everything I need. but I like the electronic stuff, and never write things down.

Another trick DH does is takes pictures with his phone of everything and anything that he might find useful... that is also a great habit to get into.

Good luck!

[lizzzi]

My Waterloo is online shopping--I hate brick and mortar shopping, but can be a Consumer Suckah on Amazon Prime. Click and forget! Oh, yeaaah. So I use my "travel expenses" pages in the back of my DayMinder for any online shopping expenses. Write it right down, ballpoint pen.Stares me right in the face with a mean look.  It's cut my online shopping in half. I am all for technology, but when I have to write it down with a pen (or enter it manually in YNAB), I'm wa-a-aa-ay more mindful of my spending. Hafta think about it. Hafta agonize over it more. No quickie electronic slick tricks.

[MsPeacock]

My Waterloo is online shopping--I hate brick and mortar shopping, but can be a Consumer Suckah on Amazon Prime. Click and forget! Oh, yeaaah. So I use my "travel expenses" pages in the back of my DayMinder for any online shopping expenses. Write it right down, ballpoint pen.Stares me right in the face with a mean look.  It's cut my online shopping in half. I am all for technology, but when I have to write it down with a pen (or enter it manually in YNAB), I'm wa-a-aa-ay more mindful of my spending. Hafta think about it. Hafta agonize over it more. No quickie electronic slick tricks.

Very true here too lizzzi. I appreciate the suggestions for electronic means by various pp, but I really think pencil (or pen) and paper is going to be the route for me. I've tried and failed at various electronic calendars and such, so my changes w/ electronic budget minding is unlikey (I already tried and failed w/ mint - just couldn't keep up w/ the fidgeting w/the phone.) . I bet I have some of those travel expenses pages saved somewhere w/ the excess stuff that comes when you by the planner.

[Spork]

I use gnucash.  It is free.  It misses lots of the cool wizbang gadgets of some of the other tools.  On the plus side (IMO) it pushes you into correct accounting principles.

I've added a lot of gadgety gizmo's into it (sort of) for customized/pretty charts, graphs, etc.  But my hacks would not be for the weak of heart.

[monstermonster]

I use YNAB - best at tracking spending I have ever found and the bonus is I like the software for budgeting too.

I also take a picture of everything I buy (except rent, charity, and "intangibles" like electricity bill) and post it on http://buyfocal.anomalily.net which is mostly just meant to keep my frugality publicly accountable in a way that isn't just numbers.

[Tjat]

I coughed up the money for Quicken and after a bit of fiddling will probably never look back. Granted, I created my own report in excel where I dump Quicken extracts into but for expense categorization and aggregating, it works great. I had past experience with Mint and wasn't impressed.

[Bracken_Joy]

Since your big concern is with the cash that is 'slipping through', maybe try an envelope system?

[Sister C]

My Waterloo is online shopping--I hate brick and mortar shopping, but can be a Consumer Suckah on Amazon Prime. Click and forget! Oh, yeaaah. So I use my "travel expenses" pages in the back of my DayMinder for any online shopping expenses. Write it right down, ballpoint pen.Stares me right in the face with a mean look.  It's cut my online shopping in half. I am all for technology, but when I have to write it down with a pen (or enter it manually in YNAB), I'm wa-a-aa-ay more mindful of my spending. Hafta think about it. Hafta agonize over it more. No quickie electronic slick tricks.

Very true here too lizzzi. I appreciate the suggestions for electronic means by various pp, but I really think pencil (or pen) and paper is going to be the route for me. I've tried and failed at various electronic calendars and such, so my changes w/ electronic budget minding is unlikey (I already tried and failed w/ mint - just couldn't keep up w/ the fidgeting w/the phone.) . I bet I have some of those travel expenses pages saved somewhere w/ the excess stuff that comes when you by the planner.

I second the low tech route!  My wife and I tried mint but found it got really buggy after it was acquired by quicken a couple of years ago. Instead we keep a simple log all of our expenses. Every time we buy something we write it down- date, recipient, $ spent.  The act of writing it down makes us much more conscious and we end up buying/spending less.  Every once in a while I track a category more closely if there's a problem area- for instance I tracked May grocery spending by keeping all receipts and categorizing what we bought in an Excel spreadsheet.  Too much of a pain to do all the time, but very enlightening to do for a month.  We spent a LOT more on prepared/processed food than I thought.  I also have an Excel spreadsheet for calculating our savings rate, which I update a couple of times a year.

Keep at it! Eventually you'll find a system or systems that work for you!

[iamscottiew]

YNAB is nothing like Mint. I used Quicken for years and just got tired of how much work it was to track my finances and hated how bloated it became. Love the simplicity that YNAB brings to my finances. I spend probably less than half as much time as I did before keeping track of my daily finances including all my account recons.


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[DeltaBond]

I use a simple spreadsheet in Google Drive... and a separate tab for the monthly bills and income, so I know how much there is that I CAN spend outside of those monthly bills.  Its got to be simple or I won't stick with it.

[MsPeacock]

Just coming back to say that I made a record sheet to put in my Day Runner and that is working well for me. I appreciate that electronic systems are awesome for others - but I tried them and they were a big no-go. I'm on top of it for July. I will tally up the numbers  and put totals for categories on my spreadsheets at the end of the month.