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I'd really like to recommit to daily tracking and the Wall Chart. Anyone in?
First, I need to decide if I will keep using the Moneydance program or something else. It seems so cumbersome now, but I could clean it up. Not sure how to start over since I took a long break with it. But I know it well and like it.
OH poo. Maybe I don't. I am remember how much work it was. But it was so useful.
Maybe today wasn't the best day to get this idea. *cranky*
I am using google spreadsheet ... easy to share with other people
I broke it into 4 easy manageable categories ... food, social/entertainment, other, RunningSports
Always looking for a partner to keep me in check ... and i could do the same thing for you
For years we wrote things down on a school notebook page as we spent it and at the end of the month I would take different colored highlighters (originally it was circling in colored pencil) to seperate the categories. Then I would add them up so we had a pretty good idea of what we were spending on.
We are really high tech now. We have a excell spreadsheet that DH made up. He just put the categories in with sub categories under each one. For instance travel has gas, hotel, food, transportation costs (ie. subway) admissions, misc. For transportation we have gas, registration and inspecion, repairs, parking). other categories include health, housing, entertainment, personal care.
He made it so that it adds up the different categories then add up all of them. We have a different spreadsheet for savings.
The original pages I have (from 1977) we also used to write in income taxes but we don't bother anymore. We have much less control over that category.
I can vouch for the fact when we don't write stuff down it never fails we feel like money is slipping through the cracks. We would never ever be FI if we hadn't tracked for the majority of these years. It makes us accountable.
This is what I'm worried about. I like the Excel idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by flowerseverywhere
Part of what did me in before was that I just had too many categories. It got too cumbersome. Need to try something else.
I really need to recommit to tracking, too, so count me in! I used a small notebook and just wrote everything down daily, then at the end of the month would tally everything up and transfer it to a legal pad so that I could compare month to month. It was super low-tech and I always think the idea of using Excel or something would be so much better because I could have charts and graphs and colors and fun! But so far it's not happened. Perhaps I should go with the tried and true method. :)
Ok, cdttmm, we are the support group for tracking . . . if I can get set up again, I can start. It's the getting set up that I dread.
Anyone used Koku on Mac?
Forget it, we're going to keep using Moneydance. I cleaned up the categories so there weren't so many subcategories or duplicate categories. That was stressing me out. "Was it dining, or restaurants?" "Was the health premium supposed to go here, under healthcare, or over here, under insurance." Silly. I also need to add our business categories and set up our different accounts (wow, lots has changed since we used this program last . . .). If I purge all the reminders that I didn't do for the last six months and basically start over, all will be well. I have had to do this before . . . :)
I do need to find a good solution for tracking our investments and mortgages. Moneydance doesn't quite do it, or I haven't quite set it up right, and so it's hard to know exactly what we have at any one time. Perhaps for that part, Mint?
I recently switched from Quicken to Mint.com and find it a great solution for tracking.
After a less than frugal month, I am ready to start tracking again on Tuesday, May 1. Looking forward to being super organized when it comes to my finances!
I agree with Rosemary that Mint is great for tracking accounts--it gets an A for that.
For tracking spending, I'd give it a C+ because it doesn't have a great "wallet" system, and the budget software is pretty lame.
I use Mint when I really want to know what my accounts are up to without any work on my part. I do my budget in YNAB, setting up categories to reflect the Elizabeth Warren "All Your Worth" proportion of 50% Needs, 30% Wants, and 20% Savings/Debt Reduction (however, I have a lower %age for "Wants" which is diverted into the Savings/Debt bucket.)
We've posted some useful tracking tools on the wiki as well: http://financialintegrity.org/index....Tracking_tools. Are there any we should add?
Helen
I did go through them before, and the buddi link seems to be broken.
Will let you know if I stumble upon anything awesome . . .
PERFECT timing on this for me. I can't believe how behind I am, and how "unconscious" (relatively speaking) about money I've been for the past few months. I think that is because I haven't had any specific goals for my money -- that's the best motivator. I also have been vacillating re: technology. Still using 2004 Quickbooks for bookkeeping, but nothing else on that old PC. The rest of my life has been on a mac for the past year. Started to try to migrate to GnuCash (free download) but I miss the bells & whistles of QB --- not to mention the 12 years of historical data! Really bad form lately though, as the desk is dominated by the PC, and so receipts are just thrown on top of it while I work at the kitchen table on the rest of life. The desk is a cabinet, so the doors just close, and out-of-sight...
:|(
Got to get my %*& together before I start thinking about offering another FI class, so for goodness' sakes -- Count me in!
I wanted to take a baby step toward getting back on track, but it is so daunting . . . maybe becuase there are so many more accounts now? Maybe what I need to do is hook Mint to the accounts that never calculated correctly in Moneydance, anyway, and only use Moneydance to worry about spending tracking and maybe savings accounts/checking/CC balances. I like the flexibility in Moneydance, and I'm used to the interface, but it was always worthless for tracking the mortgage balances and the retirement accounts, anyway.
I also think I need to just start over with Moneydance if I'm gonna do it.
Or maybe just use Excel?
We have business expenses now (not a ton, but some), and we're two people, so the whole tracking thing is a lot more daunting than when I was single and basically broke :)
How's it going for you?
I have used a combination of Excel and Quickbooks for, oh, jeez can it be almost 20 years now? Well really I just started the steps officially in 2005, so it was QB before then, but I export monthly reports into Excel to really do the tabulation and the wall chart -- it's much easier to deal with the way you want to there. I recommend that if you like to make everything "just so", although it is more time consuming (witness the resultant procrastination on my part...!) Maybe better to just "get 'er done" and then add bells and whistles after you're back in the groove?
rozie, I am thinking so. AND, since I now know how to do pivot charts, I think I can do all the reports I want through Excel quite easily. I used it for a while and it worked well.
And, Mint.com is out anyway because my main account isn't supported.
Ok. I decided that May was A TERRIBLE time to try to recommit to this. Now that we are closer to the end of the month and we have wrapped up lots of fun, I am ready to track again.
I cleared out all my old, out-of-date tracking information. I still have the monthly numbers from complete months in a wall chart, but got rid of the transactions.
I liked the categories I had set up in Moneydance, so I decided to keep it, but just deleted all the previous transactions. Huge weight off. I don't feel like I have to "catch up." I can just start from today.
I also deleted all retirement, securities, mortgage accounts from the program. It doesn't keep accurate balances, which just stressed me out. I will record those as expenses rather than transfers and will keep a separate net worth Excel or something. I was never that concerned about my net worth, though I suppose we should be. I was more worried about the daily tracking and the 3 questions when I was hard core into it.
I do realize I have to add in our business checking. Will do that now.
I'm with you, Fidg... will try to get back on top within the next week! I did do a good job of catching up in May, but dropped the ball again in terms of records. Have been keeping a lot in my head (amazing how you can do that after so many years of tracking!) But time to get it in the computer...
Uffda, nothing has come out of it for me, either! DH is going fishing for two weeks, though, so maybe I can establish a routine of it to get quick again . . . nothing worse than him breathing down my neck to use the computer and me fumbling around trying to remember how to download XYZ transactions. Maybe a good old paper record!! It's working well for my exercise tracking, anyway! :) We'll keep at it rozie . . . keep on keepin' on . . . :D
Hello,
I have been reading and intending to reply to this thread for over a month! Finally here! I have been tracking for just over 1 year now. I tried those pre-made programs but found them difficult to customize to what I needed. I chose to record each transaction by voice memo in my cell phone when it happens. Then every few days I sit down and type them in an excel worksheet.
I am getting much out of the tracking. Some months I spend more than I earned! :0! eek! Most months I save, sometimes more than expected. :cool:
Now that I have the habit it is not so bad to keep up with. I have found using mostly cash makes it easier. When I use a debit card, then have to record each transaction twice (checkbook & excel tracking) I get frustrated.
I know debit cards are supposed to make it easier to track EVERYTHING and just import all my transactions. I have not found that to be the case.
I am grateful there is an online community here for YMYL and hope I can continue to contribute.
Sincerely,
David
Welcome, David, and glad you were finally able to post! Thanks for sticking with it! I love the voice memo idea. Will have to think about that one for sure.
Hi all!!
Finally! Finally! A MONTH after I cleaned up Moneydance and donned my best expectations, I updated my tracking. Everything is UTD now. I am going to make a real effort to keep up more often than once a month!
I have had to make some compromises from my former way of tracking.
1) I am not as detailed as I used to be. I had clothing: necessary, clothing: winter, clothing: fun, clothing: shoes. Now it's just clothing. This is partly because who am I to decide if DH's clothing purchases are necessary or fun? Also, it was just soooooo cumbersome. Simplified that.
2) Took out the retirement and mortgage accounts. The program did not track the balances accurately anyway. I just set them up as expense categories. I can watch them on networth or in Excel when I get the bug to see our net worth. It's quite an effort to update all of that, although it is, perhaps, interesting to know. In true YMOYL, net worth doesn't play in. It's all about the monthly in-flow/out-flow.
3) I give up on tracking cash. ATM withdrawals are "misc." So there.
4) I also am not tracking gift cards, which I used to track as cash. Ay ay ay.
We will still have a pretty good picture of where we are spending and if it's worth it to us. If we don't want so much misc., well, then, we will need to use cash less often. I know it's not in the true spirit of Financial Integrity to get close. But it's so much better than nothing . . .
ETA: I also did Real Hourly Wage for both of us. His is a little lower than mine due to commute costs and his longer days at work. He works fewer days but routinely works longer days.
I average them out for tracking purposes. How do other couples handle that if you do the questions? Do you each use your own RHW as the number, or the averaged number? We're pretty close, so it doesn't matter that much in our big picture.
I could see in a couple where the RHW's were really different, say if one person has a different level of education or a vastly higher paying job, where it could lead to trouble. What takes one person 2 hours of life energy to pay for might not be worth it to them, but it might be only half an hour of the other's life energy, and they feel it is worth it! Trouble!
How 'bout you all?!
Gnucash user here. When putting something that ends up in the Misc category I make sure to label what it is/was. Some purchases, if easily separate-able I do so when recording it (say getting donuts and a Sunday paper).
I start with a portable notebook and write all my purchases down in it, and have only been delayed by two days at the most before recording everything.
I started tinkering with a way to include my work sponsored retirement investments in my monthy tracking. I figure since it is an actual part of my financial picture I need to be aware of it to be Financially Intelligent.
I decided to make a category of retirement to place the amount I contribute from my income each month. This category also will include the amount contributed by my employer, which will also be included in my income.
Then I compare the Fair Market Value of the portfolio each month beginning and end. The balance will be included in my total assets for balancing. The increase in the account value minus the amount contributed that month is the investment income which will have its own category.
David - ah, retirement funds . . . I am trying to figure out a better way to have these on the radar other than the quarterly statements. Just by reacquainting myself with tracking I realized we are putting collectively $2000 a month into these kinds of funds, and I don't even really watch if that is just money down the drain, or if they are doing ok, or what.
Completed June tracking and caught up through July. Interesting to look at though we thought we were doing well with restaurants, for example, we spent $250 on restaurant food in June. Now some of that was on DH's fishing trip so that wasn't too bad, all told.
The retirement reminder was a good one. Time to look at that again, especially if we are going to be looking at paying off the mortgage. I also want to reconfirm if the funds will allow us to withdraw if we retire (much) earlier than most. I believe they will. I seem to recall I chose them specifically for that. If that's our goal, it doesn't make sense to lock up ALL our money in funds that won't allow us to access them until 60-something except with a penalty. Although it seems that usually you can get your contributions back out before that with no problem, just not earnings. Rambling, sorry . . .
I have finally reconnected with the joy of tracking!! Hopefully all of you are still game for continuing this thread, though, because I'm far from back into habit mode yet . . . thanks for being here!
Tracking for June is completed! :+1:
I now see I have almost $10,000 in retirement funds & I put over $500 into them this month. Before I was just ignoring it and reducing my income by $500 each month. I felt more poor & I felt like an ostrich with my head in the retirement sand. :confused:By seeing the amount in there & the amount I am putting in each month, I am taking responsibility for my retirement.
Like you said, I will be reviewing the investments each quarter. I need to own my retirement money. This is part of my personal economy and just turning it over to investment managers in a mutual fund does not make them responsible for it. :~)
/David
I've added my wall chart to a new post.
I'm going to get back into tracking. I have my home made spreadsheets from the early 2000's and it is fun and enlightening to go back and look at them, even the ones that only have January and the January 1 balances on all my accounts. I found out in black and white pixels last night that I've paid off $22K in credit cards alone this past year. One more payment and they are all at 0. I also see I've paid off $4K on my Jeep (in storage back in the US) and almost $1K on the mortgage (on house I haven't lived in for 5 years).
I tweeked the categories to more closely show my life down here for this next year, and I'll track December as a 'trial run'.
Oooh! Will you post it? I would love to see how it changes living in Honduras! I have never been to another country. Living in other country with different culture and advantagous currency exhange rate is a small dream of mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowmoss
Well, I will just note that the categories I pay in Limps are at a 20 to 1 (L20 to $1) conversion. I buy most of my groceries at the PX in $$ and most of the other stuff online in $$, my rent and utilities are in L and if I go to the casino (my primary sin...) it is L. Trust me, it sounds a lot more romantic than it is. I feel like my real life is back in storage in Kansas City, and I'm just putting in time here to pay off debt.
Edited to add: When I stay at the hotel in Tegucigalpla I pay with the credit card, so it is in $$ as well. Gasoline for the car is in L, but the car rental is paid in $$. Seems straightforward enough to me, but probably not to others.
So you moved there to pay off debt, then return to the US?Quote:
Originally Posted by shadowmoss
Yes, living down here don't pay Federal income taxes up to a certain point, and my wages are well below that point. I can only be in the US a maximum of 35 day/year for that to work. Cost of living is somewhat lower, but mostly because there are so few options for shopping and recreation. I don't go to the clubs or drink, although I do go to a couple of casinos. There are military discounts at the 3 hotels in Teguc that are on-limits so it isn't outragously expensive to get a dose of urbanism once a month or so. I am hoping to get a job back in the US this next year, which is one reason I need to start tracking again so that I can keep my cost of living dialed back as far as possible.
Right now I pay $300/mo for a 2br 2ba apartment. No heating down here and I don't have air conditioning because I live at the base of a mountain so there is usually a breeze. My electric is arounf $25/mo and water $.35 (yes, 35 cents) a month. My car rental is $500/mo and gas is $5/gal but I don't have a lot of places to drive so I may pay around $30/week for gas. I eat 2 meals a workday at the dining facility so that is around $7/day or $35/week. I don't have a cook stove since apartments down here don't come with a stove or fridge, so I mostly keep stuff I can microwave. I live alone and I don't go wandering around alone, so I don't eat out except on some weekends when I'm in teguc.
That is mostly what I spend other than debt repayment and obligations back in the US like storage units and insurance on the house and Jeep. All pretty fixed every month. Not a lot of tracking or places to cut back. But, looking ahead to having the debt repayment money to invest and hopefully moving back to the US means I need to start tracking again.
I know this is an old thread, thank you to all who have posted here because I am looking for ideas. This low-tech approach appeals, I like the highlighter idea, I think even i could make that work.Quote:
Originally Posted by flowerseverywhere
I just write a list out by hand every month. I record cash purchases in my checkbook register. (I just don't deduct them.) For me, writing things down helps me to remember them. I keep each monthly sheet in the front packet of my journal. It keeps me accountable. I don't want to overspend. My goal is to live on $20,000. or less this year. So far, so good...