Personal Finance 101–Tracking Spending
Tracking spending habits can help identify the outflow of cash that needs to be reduced or eliminated. It can also bring us face to face with the reality that sometimes we can be a little loose with our spending. It will be this reality check that we will pit the desires to save for goals, with the desire to spend for self gratification.
There are several ways to begin identifying spending habits. Most spending categories include:
- Housing (mortgage/rent, insurance, etc.)
- Transportation (car payment, gas, etc)
- Clothing (work, summer wear)
- Medical (health and dental insurance)
- Personal (toiletries, entertainment, etc)
- Utilities (electric, gas, cell, etc.)
- Food (grocery, restaurant)
- Debt (Visa, student loans, etc.)
