How many of us really keep a track of where we spend our money? Do you check your bank account or credit card details? Do you know where your money is going to? If we do have an answer to the questions above it will be much easier to cut some unnecessary expenses to save for something that we really need or prefer better.
Keeping track of your expenses is a great way to over sensitize you with the amount of money you're spending/wasting. One way to keep a good track on your expenses is to always pay on cash. Paying in cash gives you a much stronger grasp on how much money you spend and eventually leads you to keep tabs on your spending.
I know of people who get receipts for everything they buy and keep them in a file. At the end of the month, they look through their expenses and if there is something they can do without, they stop buying it. I think such, or similar ways that enable you track your expenses can help you save a lot especially if you go through your expenses regularly and stop spending money on things which you could do without.
That's hard work really, keeping all the receipts, sometimes it's just easier to introduce them in an excel and keep a track of what's going on. Once we realize where we are spending the money we can actively start to save on that particulars.
Does anybody here use Mint.com? It makes it really easy to see all your accounts and expenses at a glance. Because I very rarely use cash, then it's even easier for me. And for when I do use cash, it records my ATM withdrawal anyway, so I can still see it as an expense and itemize it if I want to.
I never heard of that site before Jessi, I was just checking it and it does look great. Have you been using it with no problems? I (and most people I think) am usual very suspicious about putting my personal information, especially money, online, we never know who can access this information.
I am pretty good with tracking my expenses except when it come to cash. A portion of my income is in cash and I have to make an effort to get it into the bank so that it doesn't just disappear on me. I don't have a store so it isn't as though I have a till and receipts for keeping track of incoming cash payments. As far as tracking expenses online, I would rather not do it. Even when I update my investments through the internet I keep account numbers and personal information out of that software. I may be a little overly concerned but I don't feel that any site is totally secure and you never know what people can do with your information.
Yes. At this point, it has been around for 5+ years and Intuit purchased it, which is well-known for its security. I totally understand being cautious, but I feel pretty safe with this one. I haven't tried out the alternatives, but there are others out there.
I track my expenses trough online banking and I find it much easier because I can just check the statement from home using my laptop or my phone. But if I ever shopped using cash then I make sure to get a receipt so I don't lose my expenses track.
Nothing like the feedback of someone we know to make us believe more in something, so if you've been using it with no issues, I think I'm going to give it a try too, if I have a pre-built platform where I can control my money, I think that's a great advantage.
Yep! I was skeptical for the longest time when my friends recommended it years ago. And I didn't really think I needed it, to be honest. Once I finally tried it, though, I loved it. I love being able to see trends and when I run over budgets at a glance. Sure, I could look at my bank accounts and credit card accounts, but when I have it all in one place, it'll automatically show me how this month's spending compares to 3 months ago, etc. And it's not nearly as easy to fall into the trap of "oh, I haven't spent THAT much on food in the last month" when I can see that I spent money at a grocery store using my credit card, bought some online with PayPal, and ordered takeout earlier in the month that I entirely forgot about, ha! And no, there's no referral program and I don't work for them, so this is just my personal opinion.
LOL, glad to know that last part. Even so, it takes some time to put all our information there, but it's rewarding to see our every steps there and know exactly where we need to cut in case of necessity. How much time does it take you to load your info there?
It only took a few minutes to set up. Basically you just search for each of your banks, credit cards, etc. Then you put in your login credentials for each. Mint will automatically pull your last 60-90 days worth of transactions (depending on the bank/credit card....some limit access). And then from then on out, it'll automatically update whenever you log into your Mint account. Occasionally you'll need to put in security answers, etc, to refresh your account, but you don't have to manually add transactions or anything.
Ouch ouch ouch, so you have to put in the bank usernames and passwords into Mint? I though we loaded all the data manually... That seems really dangerous, so your credentials are on that site, they can access your bank account!
It's no more dangerous than putting your username and password directly into a bank or credit card company website. They use the same security system types. And the website can't actively DO anything with the information. Meaning, if I'm logged into Mint, it's not like I can make payments or make any changes to my account. I can only view or have "read only" type access to the accounts.
Yeah, I know what you mean, but at the same time we fear what we don't fully know. There is a difference though, when I access my bank I just put my access number and then everything is "written down" with the mouse, not the keyboard, I think this is harder to detect. As for credit card info you are right, but I guess the selling companies want us to trust them or else we will never use their sites.
It's important to monitor all of your expenses. If you want to be successful, then it is a key factor. You need to know where your money is going and if you are spending too much, which you probably are. If you don't track your money, you won't be able to create a budget. It's the difference between living average and actually setting yourself up for success.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean. How do you put in your access code with your mouse? Do you click numbers with the cursor? All of my accounts require that I type in a password. And then some of them will have security questions or I have to choose my security image that matches if I'm logging in from a different location.
I keep 'semi-track' of my funds. In 2014, I have become more vigilent. Now, I watch more carefully what goes out of my bank account and also get a monthly report of my credit score. My credit is good, but it could be better with more effort.
Yep, that exactly it, I write down the username (user number in the case) and than the password is inserted by clicking numbers, so I understand that is more safe because the numbers are never in the same position. I'd be scared to insert such sensitive information on an external site, but great if it's working for you.
