Managing weekly spending money better

[misscity]

How do you manage your day-to-day spending? A friend of mines withdraws $5 bills and gives herself one per day. She either buys coffee or picks up whatever homecare item she may need, etc etc. Then she's allotted $50 for groceries and that's her weekly spending plan.

Anyone have useful tips that would make this easier? I tried the envelope system and split the money into categories but I didn't personally find that helpful.

Thanks for your comments!

[GREENBACK]

I track mine in a written daily log(diary). Very simple and tells you where everything is going. Of course, this could be done on a computer but I like the pen and paper approach. I don't know the envelope system that well so won't comment on it but tracking my expenses in a log was one of the best moves I've ever made.

[littleroc02us]

Easy, just put together an Excel spreadsheet that itemizes your bi-monthly spending and then go to the bank and take out that money and throw it into envelopes that are labeled clothing, groceries, gas, going out money, blow money, etc... The idea is that you only spend what is in the envelope and when it is gone, that's it. It makes you think about what your buying instead of just throwing down a credit card.

[NolaP]

Give yourself an allowance for the week and stick to it. And if there is any leftover - put it in your savings!

[cypher1]

I guess it already depends on your daily habits/schedules. I've started bringing bag lunches 2-3 times a week, cooking dinner M-F, so during the week spending is mostly on grocery, gas, etc. My goal is to spend as least as possible during the week on food/eating out. Buying bottled water, soda, coffee, snacks during the day adds up quickly. Lots of my friends do that, besides eat out during lunch (guilty) 5x a week. If you've already broken down your needs for bills, then its just a matter of doing an allowance or log system for your left over money to budget as others suggested.

[Frugal]

I try to plan meals a week abead of time. I also set a budget before I go shop, and force myself to put items back on the shelf (especially at the grocery) to save money. I also try to lower my grocery bills, because they are a never-ending thorn in my side with food prices continually rising now due to inflation. There is only so much you can do to reduce your weekly grocery costs, since food is a necessity, but I use coupons and carefully compare stores' sales ads each Weds (for instance, before I shop today, I review them and compare sales at different stores).

In regards to entertainment, we don't go to the movies, we don't rent any longer, and we use Netflix. It cuts costs a lot. We try to not eat out as much.

[Bella Blues]

What was killing my budget was the eating out daily while at work. My suggestion would be to find a cookbook that has stuff you like to eat, this has helped me so much! When I found the right book, I went to the groceries and now I don't even touch my wallet when I'm at work because I bring my own lunch/snacks now (and they are healthier) and it has really helped my budget.

[AtoZ]

I like to write down what I spend every day for 7 days. At teh end of that period of time look to see what could be reduced or eliminated . For example, if you are spending $10, 3 times a week on lunch, maybe try to cut out 2 of thos elunches and brown bag it. If you are filling up the tank 3 times a week maybe try to consolidate trips or carpool with a coworker, etc. There is no surefire way to manage weekly finances, but there is real benefit in seeing first hand where YOU spend your dollars.

[Shewillbemine]

If you have the discipline for Excel sheets, notebooks, calendars and an abacus, go for it. I certainly don't have the energy or willingness for that stuff so I keep it simple.

On payday, I transfer EVERYTHING out of my debit card account except my spending money for the next 2 weeks. When I notice I'm running out of money, I simply cut back my spending.

You can also go old school and simply withdraw all your spending money in cash. The problem is that if you want to buy something that won't accept cash (some stores may not or online perhaps), then you're SOL

[khosta]

I'm new at this myself.... I decided I just won't spend if I don't have to. When I grocery shop I actually compare prices now and I don't buy the most expensive items anymore! I don't say "yes" every time a friend wants to go to happy hour and I've decided I'm going to build up my endurance and perhaps do some sort of marathon (no spending when you're exercisig!). It's a life style change I'de say!!!

[StepRightUp]

I keep an excel tally. Not too tough actually. Keep it on my computer at work because I access that more than I do my home computer. Based on last year's tally, I know what my avg. monthly discretionary expenses are, which in turn informed my budget. So now, I just keep track how I'm doing throughout the month.

Like many who replied to this post, the easiest way for me to save is on food: I try to bring lunch at least 3 days a week, preferably 4. I try to make dinner at least 5 days a week. That way, I can really enjoy myself when I do go out.

[bjl584]

Excel. Everything is laid out on a couple of spreadsheets that I made up. There are columns for my expenses and for my savings and investments. Pretty simple and straightforward.