Comments on: How the little things add up

By: Larry (Gibble)

Larry (Gibble) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:35:05 +0000

Hi Gina! I’ll doing well thanks! Been focusing on my consulting work and working on starting a few blogging related blogs.

By: fwisp.com

fwisp.com — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:58:36 +0000

Where in the world did my money go? How the little things add up…

In many cases the answer to this question is found in the small purchases people make constantly. It’s not the big purchases and expenses that “get’ya” it’s the little things. People generally feel the big purchases are what causes them to ask this …

By: Gina

Gina — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:51:39 +0000

Before, I was like DDFD … break a $20 and never know where the rest went after the initial purchase. I was living on cash only to help “cure” my dependence on a credit card.

Now, I am like Emily … use the debit card for practically everything – much easier to track the “little” purchases that way, especially my husband’s (won’t collect receipts, won’t write it down). I know that sounds funny … went from cash then “back to plastic” in a way, but the debit card doesn’t have a delay and there is no credit line available.

Hope you are doing well Gibble Guy! Nice to hear from you.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:54:01 +0000

Keeping records is good but I don’t think you need to keep track of every penny. Just keep broader categories. I like how you suggest to keep an Other category because you have some impulse or unexpected purposes that come about so you should budget for those.

By: rachel

rachel — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:24:44 +0000

My husband and I thought we were doing “pretty good” about plugging those hidden leaks until he got laid off. Then we realized that there were a large number of places we could and should cut back on…and that it should have been happening all along. Now we keep track of every dollar and are quite amazed at how well we’re doing even though the income has dropped by about $400 a month!

By: fern

fern — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:54:44 +0000

good advice for a newbie, but i’ve been tracking my expenses for 20 years now and have long ago plugged up any small expense leaks (as well as some big ones)

By: Emily @ Under$1000PerMonth

Emily @ Under$1000PerMonth — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:25:12 +0000

I use my debit card for everything but highway tolls and yard sales, which I have a small allowance for. This makes it so easy to see where money is going without having to write it all down.

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad.com

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:20:07 +0000

Nice macro analysis– want to see it on a micro scale? Break a $20 bill . . . then tell me where it went. You will be able to remember the intial purchase, but accounting for the balance is usually a mystery . . .