Track Your Expenses

First, you will need to have your budget with you. You should also have a notebook available to you. You can divide your paper into about three columns a piece. You will need to write down each budget category at the top of the column. Then you need to record the assigned amount next to it. If you have not created a budget, and are tracking your expenses so that you can create one, then you should decide on basic spending categories such as utilities, food, rent, eating out, fun money, and insurance. Record each of these at the top of the paper.

Next, you will need to take time each day to record your expenses. As you record each expense in a category, you will need to keep a running total of how much you have left in that category. Simply subtract the amount you spent from the current total and record the answer. It may be helpful to have two separate columns, one for expenses and one for the current total. You may also want to record the total in another color. If you are tracking expenses to determine how much you spend you will need to add the amount you spent to your running total.

Finally, you will need to stop spending when you see that you are out of money. This is the essential step in staying on budget. You may find that your budget is unrealistic or you may need to transfer money between categories. Take the time towards the end of the month to adjust next month's budget so that will work for you. It is important to remember that saving and debt payments should take precedence over eating out and vacations. You will need cut back in some areas, but you should still be able to eat every day.