You might think you know exactly where all your money goes, but do you really? A couple of bucks here, 5 bucks there; small frequent spends can add up to surprisingly big chunks of your money over time. The trouble with this type of spending is that it’s spending you don’t really think about – often because it’s a habit or a small amount – so it’s easy to lose track of your overall spend and all of a sudden find your bank account looking pretty sad.
So, how to manage that? Keep a Money Diary for a week. Yes, it sounds tedious, it may even be tedious to do, but it can be the eye-opening experience you need to understand what does happen to all your money. Use this template and keep a record of everything you spend your money on for a week. This can help highlight exactly where all your money goes and just how much you spend on drinks and snacks over the week. You might be surprised.
It can also help you be more aware the next time you go to spend money on those things. It’s like mindfulness for your money!