A simple and effective way to financial management for an hour a month
Get Rich / / December 20, 2019
I would not say that I know how to accumulate a mountain of gold. But to avoid unnecessary costs to me, perhaps, succeed. On the other hand, I do not advocate saving and painful doubts "buy or not buy." Therefore, I accept the decision to purchase once a month, and on other days only keep track of spending. But first things first.
Get a habit to control costs
For a start will have to develop the habit of regularly record all expenses.
At first, easiest to use appsIn which there is a basic list of categories and the ability to create your own. I advise you not to look for the ideal utility for accounting finance. The main thing - to fix a habit to record expenses.
Identify the main categories of expenditure
After the data collection of the first month you will be able to identify for themselves types of expenses. They do not have to match the categories of goods in the shops. For example, milk, cakes and beer can be purchased in one place. But I would have classified them into three different categories: food, treats and entertainment. They better reflect the true value of the costs.
However, the categories should not be too much. I do not see any reason to separate, say, meat and groceries. There is a certain set of products, which I think is necessary. Everything else - treats or entertainment.
Once entry into the habit of spending will go down, you can make a simple spreadsheet (Numbers, Google or Excel). Why I stopped using the app? They are too functional: it distracts and only complicates the task. On the other hand, the table for the whole month lets you see the big picture. Yes, and I do not feel a lack of functionality.
But at first, the application process really helps to love accounting costs.
Consider all expenses
To do this, you need to record expenses on a daily basis. I do it before going to bed, when am bringing up the last of the day and make a list of tasks for the next. It does not take much time, but lets loose head go to sleep.
It makes no sense to fall into paranoia and climb into the phone after each purchase. Just do not throw away receipts until the end of the day. Yes, in one check may be spending in different categories. But an oral account - a great workout for the brain.
Do not expect to immediately plan a budget perfectly. In fact, you will adjust it a few months: some will join the category, some stand out from the "other". To begin, it is important to understand where your money is going and, more importantly, where do they go in vain.
Identify, without which your life is impossible
Mandatory costs - those which can not be avoided. They need to immediately make the budget, to understand how much money is still available.
With fixed payments, for example apartmentThe easiest way: they are the same each month. Other expenses - purchase of household appliances or planned dental treatment - vary from month to month. They can work in two ways:
- Monthly to allocate from the budget of a certain fraction of that due date accumulate the necessary amount. It is convenient to use separate accounts for each goal or envelopes, if you prefer cash.
- To allocate in the early months of the necessary amount of budget. I like this method, because I do not like to think a long time to come. But he has a drawback: there are hungry months, when mandatory spending takes almost the entire budget.
Working with the remainder - the most crucial part of the budget planning.
Determine what expenses you can and should be cut
Keeping the budget is very individual and depends on your priorities.
Take, for example, the purchase of subscription to a fitness center. On the one hand, this can save you: run in the park, to be engaged on the bar in the courtyard. And if you live in the center of Moscow, a sin not to take the opportunity to run on the waterfront. Another thing - the worse areas and smaller cities. Perhaps, broken asphalt will have another opportunity to miss a workout. In this case, the payment of the fitness center can be attributed to an optional but useful expenses. They do not need to cut.
Another example - going to the cinema. It is obvious that you can watch a movie at home. And many of the films really have nothing to lose in this case. But if you enjoy large-screen viewing and novelties among the first, then without it your life will be less happy. These expenses relate to optional, but a pleasant one. They also do not need to cut as the budget allows.
But it often happens that we regularly buy something out of habit, when any benefit or enjoyment is no longer brings. The simplest example - to spend on goodies from the machine, while the purchase of a kilo of apples at the beginning of the week would be beneficial for the body and for the purse.
A trip on your own car to work, too, is not always the best option. Perhaps someone from colleagues could you bring up. And the situation with public transport is not static: if three years ago, the idea of traveling with transfers in buses goals leads you in horror, not the fact that now from your home there is no direct minibus. By the way, this method of movement has its advantages: you can read or take a nap, instead of strain in a traffic jam.
Get familiar with the controversial spending
With those unnecessary costs that are questionable, I do so: List and assess the usefulness and appeal of each item on trohballnoy scale (from 0 to 2).
- Wastes that are gaining less than 1 point, of course, rule out altogether. Most likely, this impulsive Wishlist.
- The decision on spending that are gaining 1-2 points, postponed until next month. It's easier than deny yourself something, standing at the counter.
- Expenditure on 3-4 points with a clear conscience I bring to the budget and to make purchases at the beginning of the month.
As practice shows, the cost of which has not been plannedAlmost always can wait until next month (except for force majeure). All Wishlist I'm doing in a simple list and analyze when it comes time to plan the budget again.
It turns out that financial management takes literally minutes every night and about half an hour at the end of the month. Only an hour frees me from worrying about money! Simply and without frustration.