Keeping Control of Your Finances

I have to admit that I can be pretty organised when it comes to finances and I like to keep a close eye on what and where I am spending money.  I always keep a daily record of everything I spend.  At the end of each week I work out the total spent that week and divide spending  into different categories so that I can make comparisons week on week/year on year.  I know that sounds strange coming from someone who's New Year goal was to pay off credit cards but much of the spending on them came from not being pro-active one Christmas and from paying for Olympics tickets last year, so I'm trying to avoid ever having to do that again.

When you do keep a log of spending, it is interesting to see where your money goes and how much you spend on each category each week.  This in turn can help motivate you to spend less or cut out bad habits such as excessive treats for oneself.  In recent years, I have used the record to work out what I spend in any one year in the various categories, in order to compare and set myself goals for the coming year, such as to cut down spending on myself, gifts, food, non-food, etc.  It can be a little time consuming, but if you do it regularly it becomes a habit that is just part of your normal routine.  I tend to do it on a weekly basis when I empty my purse of receipts to lighten my load or when I make any online purchases.

In addition, I always keep an eye on my bank account and it's incomings and outgoings and tick off every receipt against every debit so that I know exactly what I have to spend at any time in the month and therefore don't overspend and incur bank charges.  This is also useful as it means that any fraudulent activity gets noticed sooner rather than later, and unfortunately I have been a victim of card fraud in the past and it is not a pleasant experience.

It is very annoying to know that someone has helped themselves to the contents of your bank account and that they have purchased something, using your money, that you can't even afford for yourself. Not to mention the inconvenience it causes you when you have no bank card for a week and have to wait for a new one to be issued.  Fortunately, my bank did reimburse the money to me, but only after some very intense questioning that was quite offensive to me and made me feel like I was under suspicion of being involved in the fraud and not a victim.

As a consequence of the above experience, I am careful to shred all financial waste such as receipts or bank statements no longer needed, and  I burn the shreddings on the fire to ensure that no one can obtain information from them.  However, sadly sometimes things are beyond your control and if people are intent on stealing from you they will often find a way to do it regardless of your cautionery measures.