Tracking Our Spending

As I said on my previous post, Setting Goals, I am in the process of setting goals for 2015. I am also setting out plans to follow through with these goals so I won't give up on them before March.




My second goal (or resolution, if you wish) is to track my family's spending and set up a budget. I should have done this a while ago, but I was busy growing a human and then being a mom. In addition to the birth of our daughter, we had a lot happen in the last year. I just never found the time. This year, I am going to make the time to do this very important step in getting a hold on our finances.







The first part is to track our spending. I will be doing this for several months. You can do it for just a month, and then build your budget, but I feel it is necessary for us to do it for at least three (3) months. I created an Excel spreadsheet in order to do this. It's a very simple spreadsheet, but who needs complicated? Complicated confuses me. It's easier for me to keep things simple.


After three (3) months, I will take my spending tracker and create a budget. I'm hoping this will enable us to see where we are bleeding money and help me fix the problem. I would also like to take this opportunity to be able to save money to take Bumblebee to Walt Disney World before she turns three.





What are some of your goals for the new year? Are you making a plan to follow through with these goals throughout the year?