Hi, introducing myself

[Katiek]

I've made a couple posts already, but didn't do a proper introduction. So I thought I'd say hi and give a little background on myself. I'm in my early 50's and single, and have been reading this forum for awhile now.

I've been diligent about contributing to my 401(k) but I haven't been very good about tracking expenses and really knowing where my money is going. I have a general idea of how much I spend, but before I could really hope to FIRE, i need a much better sense about my spending and what a realistic budget would be.

I've found this forum to be a good motivator for starting to keep better track of my spending and I look forward to participating more.

 

[ghsebldr]

Katiek, This is my first post too but I can't stand a newbie not getting some type of reply so Welcome.
Sounds like you have identified some of your shortcomings, this site seems to be a great tool to help guide us along the path to eternal bliss. I know I have learned a lot here too.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

Welcome! I was in a similar position with regard to expenses when I joined here. I've been using Mint to track my spending, and have found it very helpful to see where all the money is going. Some folks use Quicken or other tools to accomplish the same thing. Whatever tool you choose, I highly recommend finding a way to track things more closely. It can be very eye-opening, and you'll likely find some obvious places to economize.

 

[FireBug]

Velcome, (I'm German... we took the Silver medal in WWII) I too, am somewhat of a newbie here, but have gained a wealth of info thus far.

I am [-]cheap[/-] thrifty. My next comments are not an endorsement for Quicken, but as my friends and family members have recommended, it does work well for what I believe you are trying to achieve. I've been somewhat hesitant to spend money on software, but am happy to recommend Quicken for detailing your expenses.

Buy the latest version. It will download all your checking, credit card info and with about 95% accuracy slot every expenditure into an appropriate 'bucket'. Do this for a year and it will tell you volumes as to where your $ is going.

 

[Katiek]

Thanks everyone, right now I'm just tracking stuff in very simple notebooks , but I'll look into the software. And thanks for de-lurking, Ghsebldr. http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/members/ghsebldr-29473.html

 

[NgineER]

Tracking in excel also works, but it requires you to enter receipts by hand for cash purchases or download fromo your CC provider website.

 

[NgineER]

Welcome - forgot that part