TRACK EXPENSES

In a fast growing world today handling personal finance can be quite overwhelming. Whether it’s due to several expenses, bills, and subscriptions, the will to spend and spend, or careless on the part of the individual, monitoring your money and will get the job done. The good news is that today’s technology comes with various creative apps that help you keep track of your expenses easier, allowing you to become more knowledgeable about your personal finance in the process. In this guide, we are going to look at how you can use technology to better follow your money and by so doing improve your cash flow, fantastic!

The Importance of Keeping Track of Your Spending

Before we dive into the techy stuff, let’s talk about why it’s so important to track expenses in the first place. Seeing where your money is going will enable you to:

• Determine Your Expenditure Pattern: Once you know what to spend money on, it helps in taking the right decisions related to your money.
• Establish and adhere to budgets: When you know what your costs are, you can find the budget that is best for you.
• Get Ready for Emergencies: Tracking your spending can help you build an emergency fund, allowing you to zero in and cut back.
• Reach Financial Goals: Saving for a trip, planning a university student calendar or finally paying off your debt if it is saving up or investing, keeping track of expenses can also help you achieve your financial goals.

How Technology Can Help

1- Expense Tracking Apps

Among the most efficient methods for expense tracking are the apps specifically designed to help do so. The following are some common choices:

• Mint: A free budgeting app that auto-syncs with your bank accounts, categorizes transactions, tracks spending.
• YNAB (You Need A Budget): Subscription-based app that emphasizes proactive budgeting and encourages users to give every dollar a job.
• Pocket Guard: This app allows you to visualize how much discretionary income you have after taking into account your bills, goals and needs.

     Getting Started:

• The app you select can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
• Sign up and connect your bank accounts and credit cards.
• Categorize your spending (e.g., groceries, entertainment, bills).
• Check your transactions on a regular basis to be in the know.

2- Spreadsheets to Keep Track of it All Yourself

If the old partners have the kind of post-divorce relationship they claim they maintain, you may prefer an old school method spreadsheet! Customized tracking using programs such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets is possible.

     Here's how to make a basic expense tracker:

Set Up Your Spreadsheet:

• Add a row at the bottom to total your expenses.
• Make the following columns: date, description, category, amount, and type of payment.

Categorize Your Expenses:

• Categories will include housing, transportation, food, fun, savings, etc.
• Color code the clusters for easier interpretation.

Update Regularly:

• Just be sure to plug in your expenses daily or weekly so the numbers truly reflect reality.
• You can plug formulas in to tally your total and compare your budget.

3- Financial Management Software

Those in search of a more holistic solution may want to consider financial management software, which comes with powerful tools for tracking expenses, setting budgets, and generating reports.

• QuickBooks: Designed for freelancers and small business owners, QuickBooks features expense tracking as well as tools for invoicing and reporting.
• FreshBooks: A good alternative for small businesses, it offers tracking of expenses, time and invoicing.

Setting Up Software:

• Will the right software suit your needs and budget.
• Upload your bank transactions or add expenses manually.
• Create categories and tags to organize your content more efficiently.
• Access and use reports and intelligence that are generated by the software.

4- Online Banking Features

Many banks now have embedded expense tracking tools. These features allow you to see your spending week over week, categorize transactions and set budgets from within your banking app.

Utilizing Bank Tools:

• Open your online banking app or go to your bank’s website.
• There are some transaction categorization and spending analysis features that are provided.
• Establish warnings when spending is unusual, or when you exceed your budget.

5- Mobile Payment Apps

Apps like PayPal, Venmo and Cash App not only make payments easy; they also keep records of transactions that you can use to see where you’re spending money.

Tracking Payment Apps:

• In these apps, periodically dial into your transaction history.
• If necessary, manually categorize payments to your main expense tracker.
• Leverage in-app tools to see where you’re spending the most.

6- Receipt Scanning Apps

If you prefer tracking expenses with hard copies of receipts, consider apps for scanning receipts directly on your phone to upload and form categories for your spending.

• Expensify: This app scans receipt and generates expense reports for you.
• Shoeboxes: A receipt scanning and expenses management app to simplify and categorize your expenses.

Using Receipt Scanning Apps:

• Download the app and sign up.
• Scan receipts as soon as you make a purchase to prevent them from being lost.
• These envelope cash budgets make it simple to keep track of what you are spending on the record keeping envelopes provided.

7- Automating Expense Tracking

The time and energy spent keeping track of expenses can be drastically reduced with automation. Getting automatic transfers in place can keep your money in line.

Steps to Automate:

• Establish Direct Deposits: Make sure paychecks are deposited into your bank account.
• Automate Bill Payments: Utilize your bank’s online bill pay service to automate regular payments like utilities and subscriptions.
• Set Up Savings Transfers: Set up automatic transfers into savings accounts to make saving painless.

8- Periodic Reviews and Adjustments

Keeping an eye on expenses isn’t a one and done job, it’s an ongoing commitment. Get in practice of processing your finances on a regular basis.

Monthly Review Process:

• Make it a point to review your expenses at least each month.
• Compare your budget to what you spend.
• Opportunities of cuts, make some and adjust your budget.

9- Setting Financial Goals

Once you know your expenses it’s time to establish some financial goals. Tech can help with this, too.

Goalsetting tools:

• Apps: Some apps can help you set savings goals and monitor your progress.
• Spreadsheets: Add another sheet to your expense tracker for goal tracking.
• Online Calculators: Estimate the amount of time that you'll need to reach your savings goals at your present rate of saving by using online calculators.

By leveraging technology to record your expenses, you can upgrade your finances and get a better understanding of how you’re spending and saving. With a combination of expense tracking apps, using spreadsheets, financial software and automation tools, it’s entirely possible to build a bulletproof system to manage your money.