I have two systems that I use together to keep track of my money. They’ve worked for me for years, so I’m sticking with them. First, I have a cash flow excel spreadsheet.

In the first column is my monthly budgeted amount, and then across the page are each of the months of the year. This excel sheet does two things for me:

1. It allows me to see if I’m on budget for the month overall and within each category, and
2. At the end of the year it shows me what I’ve averaged in each category.

There are some numbers that I fill in right across the board for every month like mortgage payments, for example. I just fill each month’s mortgage payment amount in right off the bat. Ditto my other fixed expenses. If something changes, I can change the amount, but that seldom happens so copying it across all the months saves time.

The category that sees the most action on my budget is “groceries.” Each time I shop, I bring home the receipt and enter the amount in my grocery category so I have a running total of what I’ve spent.

There are some categories that don’t get spent very often: home insurance, property taxes, home maintenance, clothes, gifts. These are auto transferred to my ING account called “budget overflow” so the money earns some interest. Then, when I need that money, I transfer it back to my transaction account.

My savings and emergency fund money are auto transferred every month to their respective savings accounts so I don’t even have to think about them.

The other system I use is a notebook and pen. I put my balance at the top of the first page and every cent I spend is tracked manually so I always know exactly how much money is in my account. Whether I use a debit card or a credit card, I deduct it from my balance in this book so that I’m not tempted to spend the same money twice. When the credit card bill comes it, I check it against my book, label all the transactions covered by that statement with a letter of the alphabet (I’ll only need 12 for the year) and when I pay the bill, I make a note of the letter of the alphabet I’ve used. So when I pay my March bill, it’ll cover all the transactions on my credit card that I’ve labeled “C”. If something didn’t come through on my March bill, I know it’ll be on my April bill. But the money has already been deducted from my balance, so I won’t delude myself that I have more money than I owe.

I have a list of auto-deductions at the front of the notebook so that I can enter those each month without worrying about forgetting one. I also have a list of all the bills that I get each month so that if one doesn’t arrive (like the hydro bill last month) I can call and see whazzup.

I’ve had more than a few people tell me my system is anal. “Button down” is how I like to think of it. And I’ve had more than a few people tell me there’s no way they have the time for such a complicated system. Really, you have time to watch TV, play hockey, go shopping, entertain family and friends, schlep your kids to their events, but you don’t have time to manage your money? Hmmm, must not be that important to you. I’ve also had people tell me that they can’t: can’t remember, can’t keep track of their receipts, can’t deal with all the numbers. Grow up! You bust your butt making the money that’s leaking out of your hands. “I can’t” is a cop-out. “I can’t” is a lie. It’s not that you “can’t”, it’s that you “won’t!”

There are loads of ways to keep track of your money. I’m not about to tell you what you MUST do. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself. My way works for me. Other people have ways that work best for them. As long as you have a system that works, you go with that system. If your way isn’t working, you can whine about it, or you can make the effort to come up with a better system.

Okay, it’s your turn. What are your best ideas for tracking your money on a day-to-day basis?