Approximately five years I started grad school, and needless to say I had very little money. So in order to help track my spending, I started writing down every purchase I made on an index card in my wallet. I'd fold the index into 8 sections, one for each day of the week, and then an eighth section for the weekly total. It really helped me stay on top of my spending in the moment. I know there are apps like Mint that tell you some breakdowns at the end of the month, but this helped me track all transactions, including cash. It would help me remember to not buy "X" because I just bought some "expensive" five days earlier. Or I could reference the index card to see if I should really be going out to eat or to a bar, if I was under budget that week then okay, but if not, then I stayed home. Keeping the index folded up right in front of my credit card forced me to reference it before making purchases. It really helped me control my spending, and stretch a small budget as far as it could go.
Here is a link to some pictures, if interested:
In case anyone is curious about the sample card, let me interpret my terrible handwriting:
Giant Eagle/Grocery: $4.26
Gas (car): $23.00
Coffee: $2.10 SW (Speedway Gas Station): $2.44
Beer (cheap beer): $5.65 Coffee (these index cards help me realize how much I was wasting on coffee): $1.89 Car Wash (it was January, had to raise the salt off my car at a DIY car wash): $2.00 Intramural Volley Registration Fee: $6.00
More Beer: $18.14 More Coffee: $1.05 Personal Checks: $11.29
NOS Energy Drink: $2.50 Snowboard Rental Fee: $38.00
Bottle of Fireball: $18.15
Just thought I'd share in case anyone else is in a similar situation and looking for a easy way to cut back on spending.
Submitted December 27, 2017 at 09:36AM by IH8NYLAnBOS http://ift.tt/2BHuP4b
