To get a clear overview of your finances, let’s think about how to cleverly group the listed items. This not only makes entering, updating, and regularly maintaining them easier but also helps you keep track. The best timeframe for this structuring is always the good old month.
Incomes are the simplest: Write them down in the order they come in during the month and then combine them under the “Incomes” group. If you have multiple sources of income, you can orient yourself based on the categories from the other post.
Expenses are trickier because they can occur daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and even annually. Here, it makes sense to first define the expense groups and then assign the individual items. The proven categories from the previous posts work well here too:
- Housing
- Mobility
- Insurances
- Finances
- Nutrition
- Clothing
- Health and Care
- Household and Family
- Communication / Media
- Leisure
- Other Expenses
Now, insert all individual expense items into these categories and calculate the group totals. You can adjust the categories according to your needs – it’s important that the grouping fits your personal situation; otherwise, you’ll quickly lose interest in noting your expenses.
The most interesting part is “Other Expenses” – here lie the small and big ‘money-eaters’ that you could actually save on. Even during entry in other categories, the first opportunities to save are already evident: you don’t have to buy the eighth nail polish, the third glasses case, or the seventh belt. The more money-eaters become visible at this grouping step, the more potential the ‘Expense Reduction’ step has. You can combine smaller, irregular amounts under one entry for now. It’s not necessary at this stage to record each package of noodles or each laundry detergent separately. In the next step, the Expense Reduction, I’ll delve deeper into examining individual items and potential savings.