When Tina Tehranchian's son was a toddler, she thought nothing of splurging on expensive toys and outfits for him. It wasn't until she evaluated her spending for a few months that she realized what a large dent her little guy was making in her wallet.
"When I sat down and tracked my expenses I noticed that I was spending more money on buying him toys than I was saving for his education," she said. "That was a shock to me."
Now a certified financial planner with Assante Capital Management in Richmond Hill, Ont., Ms. Tehranchian knows first-hand about the importance of recording one's spending as part of a comprehensive savings plan. Most people have only a vague idea of where their money goes every month, and the only way to find out is to track it - right down to the nearest dollar.
Now when she meets clients, one of the first things she does is hand them a blank cash-flow statement to fill out. "There are certain things that you uncover about how people are managing their money that may never come out if you do not engage in this exercise," she said.
Ready to track your spending? The important thing is to pick a method that works for you, says Vicki Robin, co-author of Your Money or Your Life. "The point is to do it. You can write it in ballpoint pen on your hand and transfer it to a little black book at home before you shower if that delights you," she says. Here are methods that don't involve writing on your skin:
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In Ms. Tehranchian's case, the exercise led her to cut back on gifts for her son so she could contribute more to his education fund. She and her husband also decided they were spending excessively on restaurant meals, so they started brown-bagging their lunch.
In the old days, keeping track of one's spending meant carrying around a pen and notebook and religiously jotting down every purchase. While some people still prefer that method, technology has opened up new options for following the money.
Elizabeth, a 44-year-old marketing professional in Toronto, makes virtually all of her purchases with a credit or debit card. She then looks up her transactions online and enters the information into the Outlook calendar on her computer. Every week or so, she uses a spreadsheet to tally her expenses by category - groceries, car, home maintenance, restaurant meals, and so on.
When she and her partner tracked their spending for the first time a few years ago "it was an eye opener," says Elizabeth, who did not want her last name used. "We're going, 'Geez, look how much we're spending here.' Just picking up sushi was $40 for two of us."
Armed with the information, they were able to make some small but important lifestyle changes to save money. Instead of leaving work at separate times and taking two cars to their cottage, for instance, they drove together to save on gas. They also cut back on restaurant meals.
