A Good Measure - Step 2

After you have completed Step 1 (tracking all spending for 2-3 months), it's time to see where your money is going.

1. Take a piece of paper and make columns for Food, Clothing, Childcare, Utilities, Rent, Debt, Gas, etc, etc.
2. Go through your notebook, looking at one month at a time.
3. Divide up your expenses into the various categories.
4. At the end of Step 2, you should have 3 monthly totals for each category.

You now are beginning to see where your money is going.

A Good Measure - Step 1

The first step in developing a plan to live on what you make is to find out where you are right now. To do this, you need to start tracking where your money is going. Here's how:

1. Commit to tracking your spending. You don't have to change your spending habits right now. We're just going to start writing it down.
2. Get a notebook and carry it with you at ALL times.
3. Write down every time you spend money immediately. Make sure to include purchases by cash, credit or check. Record how much you spent and for what (how much for food, movies, clothing, electric bill, etc). Be specific.
4. Plan to track your spending in detail for 2-3 months.