Where Does Your Money Go?

Have you ever gone through your bank statement?

If you haven't, you should because it sure is an eye-opener.?

You get to discover how much of a spender you are and how you could afford a vacation if only you save more and stick to a budget.

I was at a training school for the past two months and the one thing I did the most was to spend money. The most noticeable fact on my statement other than my current balance is that there were more Debits than credits.?

I felt so lazy during that period that I barely took out time to track my expenses as I should. Other than the fact that I know I did spend so much on transportation, my current balance is just way less than I had expected, and there is only myself to blame for being such a spender and not tracking my expenses on the go which is less demanding than analyzing my bank statement.?

And just because I need to improve on managing my Finance, I decided to become more accountable. I began tracking my daily expenses 24th of June for no reason other than the fact that my savings account got revived that day.

For a start, the priority will be to track my daily expenses to determine with certainty how I utilize my income while ensuring regular savings to my piggy wallet; to work within a budget which can only be achieved by first identifying all necessary expenses to be incurred in a period and finally making provisions based on expected income.?

Creating a personal budget is one of the best ways to maximize income by adopting a plan that prioritizes one’s spending for the future. But before that, it is essential to track expenses as it will form a basis for making provisions for the budget.

Tracking these expenses will go a long way in eliminating wasteful spending habits such as the 'Diderot Effect' which is the tendency for one purchase to lead to another additional, maintaining control of one’s finances with mental controls such that whenever you want to buy something over #5k, you wait twenty-four hours before purchasing, promoting better financial habits like saving by setting an auto-save to your piggy bank account and finally, investing via legitimate investment platform such as I-Invest.

To achieve this, I created an easy-to-use template for tracking expenses. And because I also want you to imbibe this finance culture, you can obtain this template by clicking on the link below.?

Rather than download, make a copy via Google Drive then populate (Click on File > Make a copy, the Rename, or Click on the 3 dots > Share & export > Make a copy). This way, you can easily update the sheet regularly with your phone or laptop.

I hope you find this helpful.

I also, take it upon myself to post a weekly reminder so you get to stick to it religiously and because I will be back by the end of July to ask you- Where does your money Go. My belief is by then you should be able to account for it more accurately.

Happy new month & today sure is a good day to begin tracking your expenses.

https://bit.ly/3nt6Pey

Your Fav-accountant- Hafsat Itanola.