Tuesday, January 26, 2010

money down the drain

I'm pretty sure that I'm not alone in this area - I have this money that I work hard for, and then I have no idea where the hell it goes. I can still remember the time my first pay came in (more than 1K because for some reason I didn't get paid till six weeks after I started), that money was liquidated in the span of a few hours. What it went to, I have no idea - I know there were some books purchased, and a couple of movie tickets - but that can't have cost that much!

So due to the state of our finances, Chel and myself have decided that we will start spending diaries so we can at least see where our money goes. I've always been a diary person, but I never seemed to utilise most parts of it. To be honest, my diary is always neat and organised in the first few months of the year, and then it all falls apart thereafter. And I only used the week pages, and none of those notes pages, or the financial planner section (which I have sort of just discovered this year in my mocha Deben Designer A5 Week to View - & El has the same one, but in pink). And OMG, it is a life saver!

I've been using it to keep track of the things I spend my money on, and how often. I even pencil in future purchases I know I will make. It helps keep things in perspective - and helps me keep my new year's resolution to handle my money in a more informed and practical manner in order to have some form of savings.

So hopefully, I keep at it and continue to shame myself by looking at just how much I spend on books, food, random non-essential craft items and clothes - and when the next year comes around, I will have savings and be a smarter or at least more practical (meaning less impulsive) shopper.

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