How to track your money to create a budget and stick to it

Why track your spending?

It’s practically impossible to remember what you spend money on every day. Tracking spending is important as it shows you where your money is really going. You’ll be able to spot spending leaks and places where you might not want your money to flow. You can then use this information to help you create and review your spending plan (a.k.a. your budget).

Ways to track your spending

Here are a few options for tracking your spending.

Your bank

If you’re signed up with a New Zealand bank, they will be keeping a record of most of your transactions and data, and they probably include money tracking in their apps. You may find these helpful in categorising your purchases and capturing everything you spend. But remember that you may also be spending from other accounts or cards, or even cash, which you’ll need to record as well.

Apps and online tracking

You might like to try an app that’s designed to help you track your spending on the go.

Some apps can even link directly with your online banking and automatically pull in all your spending!

Here are some examples:

Pocketsmith is available as an online tool as well as an app. It provides forecasting, scenario testing and general budget tracking.

Goodbudget is a money tracking app which uses a digital envelope system to make it easy to keep track of your spending.

Spreadsheets

If you are a fan of Excel this could be your go-to tracking tool. Excel or Google Sheets can automatically calculate expenses in certain categories.

Pen and paper

For those who like to be a bit more traditional, writing all your expenses down in a notebook may be the best option for you. Take the notebook everywhere you go.

Stick to your plan by tracking your spending

It’s important to continue tracking your money even after you have created your spending plan (budget). Check your actual costs against your plan. How did you do? Does your plan need some tweaks?

It’s not realistic to stick to the same spending plan for months on end. Things change and you will need to shuffle your money around. Put a reminder in your diary to review your plan after three months and see if you can make any changes. Check to see how you are going with your goals – can you find any other money to funnel towards them, perhaps a side hustle?