manage your money

[m2finn]

I have found a great way to manage my money and it makes me spend less and keep track of everything. I made an excel spread sheet with all my expenses and earnings. Its a great way to keep track of everything and see what your spending money on every month. By actually entering in and seeing the money I spent, I am more motivated to cut down my costs, especially being a college student. I have taught several of my friends how to do this and they say that they are spending less money already. Its a great first step to managing your money if you find yourself being someone that is a frequent spender. Learning how to use excel is also very useful because many careers require excel experience.

[fetzer85]

I believe you've discovered a 'budget' - congratulations! They're an awesome tool.

[ACarboni]

This sounds really great that keeping your track of how much money you spend in an excel sheet, can help you save money.

[marvholly]

I am cheap or at least frugal. I see NO reason to PAY for budgeting software. I have used pretty much the same excel spread sheet (with minor category adjustments as I age) since at least 2001.

[disneysteve]

I am cheap or at least frugal. I see NO reason to PAY for budgeting software. I have used pretty much the same excel spread sheet (with minor category adjustments as I age) since at least 2001.

Same here. I've been tracking everything since around the time we got married in 1992. I did it on paper for the first few years, as that was somewhat pre-computer. In the mid-90s, I transitioned to doing it on the computer and have been using the same format ever since.

I still have the whole file of reports back to 1992. Looking back and seeing how far we've come over the years is really neat.

[krantcents]

I did the same thing when I was a college student about 50 years ago. I did not have all the programs such as spreadsheets, apps etc to help me, but it affected the rest of my life. I chose a career that led to CFO of a variety of companies, became an entrepreneur and achieved financial independence! Budgeting teaches you so much more than just tracking your expenses. Good luck.

[CashUp Sammy]

Awesome. Good for you.

Nothing truer than "What gets measured gets managed" - Drucker.