Let’s be honest,
raising kids is expensive. The spend starts well before birth and never really
ends. Whether mums go back to work or not, family budgets are squeezed a lot
tighter, so knowing (and using) a few useful ways to track spending and save
money makes life a lot less stressful.
A Simple System
To set up an easy bookkeeping
system you can use a notebook, Excel on the computer, or a combination of both.
In a notebook,
you’ll need four columns on the page: one for the date, one for what you bought,
one for how much it was, and one to record the difference it made in your bank
balance. Just draw three lines down the page and head each column in the order
given, so the date is on the left and the bank balance on the far right.
Start entering numbers
by putting your current bank balance at the top of that column (use your bank
statement or you online banking app). From now on, every time you buy
something, jot down what it was, what it cost and when you bought it. Subtract
the amount from your bank balance, and put the new balance in the row with the
purchase.
Start a new page
every month (or every week if you buy a lot and your pages are small) and
always begin by putting your current bank balance in the top right column.
Don’t forget to subtract standing orders or direct debits to keep the balance
accurate.
If you keep an Excel
spreadsheet, set it up exactly the same way. The advantage of using a computer
is that you can make columns automatically add up.
Saving Receipts Can Help
Try and get into the
habit of carrying your notebook all the time. A small one takes up hardly any
space in your bag and it only takes a moment to jot down what you bought and
how much.
Sometimes, though,
you don’t have time to stop and write in a book. Receipts are your lifesaver.
Hang on to them (and ask for one if it’s not offered when you buy something),
and fill in the details once you get home and do have a moment.
Unless you’re
keeping receipts for a business, you can bin them once the information is
transferred into your bookkeeping records.
Family bookkeeping
is a lot different from business bookkeeping in this respect. For a business, you
do need to keep all your receipts, and may find an accountant or professional
bookkeeper helpful in setting up a system that’s more suited to business needs.
An accountant would also have valuable advice if your family finances are more
complicated, for instance if you have investment
income. But
for purely family budgeting, you can safely throw away your old receipts
(except when they’re for warranties or you might need to return an item).
Making Use of Your Records
Saving money is a
lot easier when you can see where you spent it. Maybe your restaurant or cafe
bill is way bigger than you thought (one cup of coffee in a fairly basic cafe
can run up a bill of around £40 a month), or top-up grocery shopping is costing
as much as the usual ‘big’ shop does.
Having a written
record of everything you spend money on lets you pick a category (say days out
or coffee with friends) and just add up the cost of those items. You can
quickly figure out how much you could save if you did things differently, and
also how much you’re willing to change habits so you can meet savings or other
financial goals.
Once you get the
habit of tracking money, it can even be fun and rewarding. If you have older
kids who get pocket money, teaching them how to
track what they spend it on
will also set them up for good money management and budgeting skills in the
future.
No comments
Post a comment