Tracking Expenses

[Amethyst]

This is my first year of religiously tracking every dollar in and out, and I credit the ER Forum for the inspiration I thought I had been doing a good job of tracking, but turns out I was just doing a good job of keeping the bills paid Even so, there is darn little fat we could cut. If we did cut anything, it would seem ridiculous in comparison with the percentage that vanishes directly into the Tax Maw.

I agree with those who say, "No such thing as Miscellaneous!" MISC is always identifiable; after all, one had to point to something and say "I want that"; it's just that sometimes, maybe, one doesn't want to identify it

For those who pay lots of ATM fees, can you join a credit union? Ours charges nothing to use their machines, and only .75 to use another bank's. ATM fees are even eviller (if considerably smaller) than the Tax Maw!

Amethyst

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip)
For those who pay lots of ATM fees, can you join a credit union? Ours charges nothing to use their machines, and only .75 to use another bank's. ATM fees are even eviller (if considerably smaller) than the Tax Maw!

Amethyst

I agree with you! Whose money is it anyway?!? I eliminate ATM fees by not using any but my own bank's ATMs. It's a national chain bank, so there is usually one nearby. Or, if I needed a small amount of cash I'd go to the grocery store, buy something I need on my debit card, and get cash back. Either way, I don't pay any fee.

 

[Rustic23]

I track the total of our spending each month, and keep a mental picture of our what our annual spending will be. I have done that most of my life, and had a good idea what our annual expenses would be when we retired. I had a spreadsheet like Firedreamers, however, it's purpose was to forecast the possible effects of inflation and market changes on our retirement. We will spend more next year, but it is not because of inflation, but, because we will start SS and we plan to spend most of the extra income.

 

[harley]

Here are my categories (I track everything in Quicken):

administrative fees (driver's license, passport, etc...)
auto depreciation
auto repairs and maintenance
gasoline
auto insurance
auto registration and taxes
bank charges
cash (ATM withdrawals, we don't track actual cash purchases but they represent only 0.5% of our expenses).
charitable contributions
clothing
computer
dining
entertainment
financial service fees
financial support (we help my mom financially on occasion)
furnishings & durable goods (appliances, furniture, electronics, etc...)
gifts
groceries (food, but also paper towels, booze, cleaning products, etc...)
mortgage interests
home improvement
home repairs and maintenance
pest control
property taxes
home insurance
home security
disability insurance
life insurance
legal fees
dentist
doctor
health insurance
drugs
vision
personal care
pets
cable TV/internet
phone
water & electric
vacations

Sounds good, but I think if it were me I'd hide the drugs in with the booze and cleaning products.

 

[audreyh1]

I, too, track every dollar and have for years.

The only time I do an un-examined grouping is on vacation. I just lump all the credit card receipts and ATM withdrawals and slot the total in the 'Travel' category. As long as it's below what I expected, I'm ok with however and whatever I spent.

That's interesting.

I do track the sub-categories under travel, so it is broken out for airfare, lodging, dining, souvenirs, etc.

When we went on more defined trips I also assigned a code to each trip (forgot what Quicken calls these) and I could easily see exactly how much each trip cost. That was useful.

Audrey

 

[Bikerchick]

I have fixed expenses, and variable expenses:
Fixed:
rent
renter's insurance
federal tax
state tax
car tax
RE tax
professional dues
savings
health insurance
pets

Variable:
utilities
phone
groceries
household
medical
gym
clothing
personal care (ie haircuts)
car repairs
car insurance
motorcycle
motorcycle insurance
TV and Internet
dine out
entertainment, incl. timeshare
trips
gifts

Break out credit card purchases each month and put them in the appropriate categories.

 

[FIREd]

Sounds good, but I think if it were me I'd hide the drugs in with the booze and cleaning products.

Now that's an idea!