Hi there! today I was really having a hard time keeping my savings safe on its box. I was really a spender at times. I had difficulty in handling cash. If I have some on my pocket I would spend all of them without even knowing. Then, when I got home that was the time to get disappointed and all.

But I am not this type of spender who buys expensive clothes or bags. I just bought what's enough for me and what I really need at that point. But still it was not a good habit (I know that ) because as I said I won't realize the money that I spent until I got home and checked my purse. I wanted to end this spending and prevent myself from throwing away what little savings I had right now.

Here's the scenario. I have 3 sibs and we had our own savings at home and I had the smallest amount because I immediately spent my money if I gained some. Sometimes for food, clothes or just anything I find necessary when I was at the mall. I don't buy expensive stuff just the average ones. I am still practical at some point. However, most of the time, when me and my sibs went to the mall I was the one who spent larger than them. Little savings. Big expenses. (-.-;) I really have to find a way to prevent me from spending much.

After that it came to my mind, why don't I try first to monitor my savings and expenses. In that way I would know where I spent the money and how much did I gave away for that piece of anything. It sounds a great idea for me. This would be a good step if I really want to be thrifty.

The point of monitoring your savings (or the money you have at home, on your piggy bank or under your cabinet but not the money you deposited in the bank) is for you to know where you spent much and how much money you spent each time you get hold of your savings.

The Savings part would be like your Deposited money in the bank, it is divided into six columns but this is up to you. You can add columns or delete some if you want. The first column would be your Saving's Name. This part is where you are going to put the code name for the money you had. It could be something related to the way you earned the money or who gives you that money. The next two columns is like a check list. The Active and Cleared section. You would just put a mark under the active column if you still had that savings at hand and put a different symbol under cleared if you already spent it. The next one is the Date you Accumulated that money. Next, is the Amount you had in that savings. You could be honest or you could still keep this a secret. But to make sense on the monitoring that we are going to do I suggest that you put the amount. The last column is the Place where you hide the money. This could also be left blank if you are worried about your brother or sister stealing some of it.

On the other hand, the Expenses part is divided into 5 columns. The first one is for the Name / Original Amount of Savings. This is where you are going to put the saving's name and amount you had into it before you spent some. Next column is for the Date you spent the money. Next, is for the Amount you  Spent. The fourth column is for the Reason or the stuff that you bought from that money. This could be an enumeration of all the stuff you bought from that saving's name. And lastly, the Remaining Cash at hand or the money left on that saving's name if there is. The Expenses part is like the Withdrawal.

How it works...

You just have to fill in the tables and see to it that you update it every time you spent money or add more to it. That way you could monitor where you spent the money, what did you bought and how much you spent. You could weigh in how much expenses you had over your savings. If you really had a lot of expenses and few savings you have to tighten your belt. Think before you act as they say. Ask yourself if you really need to buy that thing or you just want to buy that thing. It's a different matter if it's not a necessity. Always keep track on your spending. However, if you had enough savings to cover your expenses be proud of your self! That's a good start. Set a saving goal. Being thrifty is a difficult thing to do immediately. You have to condition your mind first to be able to do it. This Savings and Expenses Monitoring Sheet is the start to do that.

Here are some of the sites that might be helpful on your way...