separate tracking money/spending from balancing checkbook/Debit Card

I think where I would get missed up is I tried to keep track of where my money went by looking solely at the transactions at my checking account, via check or debit card. THe problem with this is two-fold. First, I couldn’t track what I spent Cash on. If I got money out of the ATM, all I would track is that I got money out, but I wouldn’t have what I actually spent it on. Especially if it was for micsellaneous money, like fast food, or random purchases. The second problem was that every transaction was one thing, even if in that one transaction, I was really spending in a couple of catagories.
Once I separated the two, though, I was able to see a much more realistic (and depressing) picture of where my money is going. I can now see how much I’m spending on beer and dog food while I’m at the grocery store, instead of just grouping them all together because I got them all at the same store. I can now see how much I spend on food while I’m at work, and using cash to buy breakfast and lunches around the office. I can track how much I spend at the vending machines at work. Unfortunately, this is something I couldn’t see before.
Of course, I still have to keep track of my bank balances and all of that. So, I have to keep writing down each transaction, but now, the location and how much are the only important things about the bank balance. I don’t need to worry about what category it’s in, because I know I’m tracking it in another, more-precise place. Once I got a system set for tracking every penny I spend, it was very easy to get these two seprated. Now, I don’t see much more effort in doing both, then when I was doing one, but I get a better, more-precies measure of what I’m actually spending my money on. Now, if I can just make some more money to track…

Filed under: budget, finance, money