Keeping Track of Expenses 101

I've had a question about how I manage to keep track of our expenses.  In case the answer is of general interest, I'm posting it here.  If you're not interested, skip this post. ;)

When I get home from a shopping trip I place all of my receipts into a file folder.  Some purchases are grocery-only, and that makes it simple.  For receipts from Wal-Mart where you can buy anything from lettuce to linens to lawnmowers,  I try to note on the receipt what budget category an item belongs to before I place it in the folder.  If I don't do this right away, I often can't figure out what the item was.  To make this easier I keep items organized in my cart so that same-category items get scanned together, with all the grocery items going through last.  Some stores, like Superstore and No Frills, actually categorize and organize this for you. I'm really appreciating that!

I keep a scrap piece of paper in this file folder to jot down anything that has been paid with cash that I don't get receipts for. The trick there is to jot it down right away or it can easily get forgotten.

I bet you're wondering what these pictures have to do with this post...

I set aside time one afternoon each week to take care of our personal finances.  That's when I pay/file bills, balance the chequebook and total up and enter our expenses on the spreadsheet.  I put a check mark on each receipt that I have recorded so I don't count it twice (I'm easily confused) and when I'm done they get placed in other folders: ie. mastercard receipts in the m/c folder until I compare it to and pay the bill.

They're frozen assets. Heehee.

It really is that simple.  Just two key things to make it work: a folder to collect all the receipts and time set aside each week to enter the numbers on the spread sheet.

Hope that helps,

P.S. Superstore also notes on the bottom of the receipt how much money you saved by buying sale items and what percent of the cost that was.  Today I saved 29%!  Talk about a satisfying shopping trip. :)