Ok, so usually everyone could stand to be a little more organized with their money. This was definitely me. And although there are many fabulous softwares for tracking expenses (anywhere from an Excel spreadsheet to QuickBooks to Mint.com), I am definitely more aware of money if it is written down. Something about that makes the money feel more real, and possibly makes me spend less.
Anyway! I found a solution!
And how cute it is...
It is our budget book!
I gathered together a bunch of easy ways to track our money and ran down to Office Depot (I am in heaven in that store, it's not healthy) and got the whole thing bound.
I got it bound because this is only meant to house the finances for 1 year-
I won't need to add anything to it.
On to those adorable rainbow tags!
The two tags above show some of my favorite features: The bill tracker and the expense log.
Here is the bill tracker:
I love it because it keeps an overview of every bill. On one page. How delightful is that?
I got totally inspired by THIS post on one of the blogs I am currently obsessed with.
The next thing is the expense sheet- I fashioned the top menu a bit after Quickbooks- it's what I use at work, and the detail makes more sense to me.
(Headers: Date, Type (check, cc, etc.), Description, Debit, and Credit.
**Note- debit (usually) means an expense and credit (usually) means a deposit. But you knew that.
And of course, I had to make it pretty colors. :)
The next tabs are scratch paper (anytime math is involved, I find this helpful, even if it is just to doodle), and envelopes...
The envelopes are so adorable:
They work really well for pending receipts and important little papers- and the little snaps are functional, quick, and super cute.
Another feature I love: pockets in all my dividers. Now statements, bills, etc. can get slipped into the pocket (before they are payed and filed).
And of course, there are many bills that are payed online---and as much as I love to keep a paper record- paying online is SOO much easier. So I had to think of a way to organize that in a way that would be accessible.
Ta-da!
This little gem is so easy- I keep a pdf receipt of all the bills I pay online and stick it in the appropriate month folder.
I love this because:
1- I know where all the receipts are no matter what
2- I don't have to keep it stored on my computer
3- I can file it away after the year with all the other files (even though it will probably end up being used for 2-3 years, in the which case I will divide out the years and re-label)
4-It was only 8 bucks.
Easy-peasy!
Had soo much fun doing this project, I can't wait to get everything all caught up!
How do you keep track of your finances?
Happy Accounting!
(Read: Happy Organizing)
: )
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