#MyRoadToRiches: Track your Expenses!


Ola! I'm always extra giddy when it's Friday. Giddy enough to wear a colorful maxi skirt and braid my hair to the side. Maybe it's because I met my blogger friends last night after a long long while (Hi, Tara, Jheng, Shen, Phoebe and Martha!). Or maybe because I was pleasantly surprised to see that #MyRoadToRiches made it to the list of popular posts. It only means that my campaign to gain financial freedom and my journey to be truly abundant where it matters is affecting quite a number of followers. Second, it also means that my readers, aside from reading about beauty and lifestyle, are also interested about more serious things like finances. I knew you guys are a beautiful and smart bunch! :)

So, today I'll share with you one simple thing that can affect your financial health greatly - TRACK YOUR EXPENSES. The only way you can manage your money really well down to the last centavo is to jot it down in paper, or in our case, in our computers. Otherwise, you'll find yourself thinking where your 13th month bonus go, and never really know the answer. Don't be like me, I learned it the hard way! 

Just to be clear, I'm not a financial expert. I have no background in finance whatsoever. I just happen to be really OC on things including my finances. I like Math when it involves money. :D

Below is a simple template I use to track where my money goes. This is of course, a sanitized version. I removed the actual names of the institutions I pay. But for easier reference, fixed percentage of my income goes to the items highlighted in green (I call it MUSTS buckets), monthly bills are in blue and additional/extra or once-off expenses in purple.  



GREEN (Musts Buckets):
  • Working Allowance - 20% 
  • Investments - 10%
  • Savings - 5%
  • Play - 5%
  • Share - 5% 
BLUE (Monthly Bills):
  • House Rent
  • Credit Cards
  • Big ticket purchase 
  • Phone/DSL 
  • Mobile 
PURPLE (Add-on expenses):
  • This can vary monthly, but this is where things like Driver's License renewal fee, birthday gifts or shopping will fall.
Just to note, I don't necessarily spend my PLAY allocation every month. The funds under this can be rolled over monthly until you get enough for let's say, an out of town trip. It's also best to have separate bank accounts for different funds. In my case, I have:
  • Savings Account
  • Emergency Fund
  • Play/Travel Fund
My goal is to have separate account for my  RETIREMENT fund when I'm more able. For now, my retirement depends on my insurance/investment which is being handled by a financial institution. I suggest you seek professional guidance on what investment is right for you. There are plenty with various risk levels! Mutual Funds, Stocks, Bonds etc. Visit Sun Life Financial Philippines or PRU Life UK for help.

If you want to get a copy of my very humble expense tracker template, just drop me an email at dang_villanueva@yahoo.com and I'll send it to you soonest. You may customize it according to your needs/goals.

Have a great time tracking your expenses. Believe me, you will value your money better when you know exactly where it goes. Happy weekend, everyone, and thanks for reading this geeky post. :)

From the Nook,
Dang 

Comments

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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Yomi. Your blog is even nicer! Followed you back. :)

      Delete

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