Using A Planner to Track Your Finances
On some occasions, trackers and planners are just tedious and time consuming tasks. But for topics like finance, using a tracker can literally make or break your bank account. In this post, I will show you how to make and use your very own personal finance tracker.
As you can see in the photo, the left side of my finance tracker shows all purchases and withdrawals taken from my bank account throughout the month. With the purchases, I also made sure to track the date and whether or not I needed the item. At some points, I found myself buying things just so I could write it down… LOL! But in the long run, keeping this tracker helps me stay self aware and make less impulsive decisions with my money.
Here is a close up of the ‘expenses’ section. At the top and bottom of the page, I wrote down the amount of money in my bank account in the beginning and end of the month.
On the right side of this two-page spread, I made two charts: bills, and income. Now, because I am a 19 year old college student who lives at home with her parents, I do not have many bills. In your finance tracker, this section might look a little different.
In the ‘bills’ section, I write down every bill that I have to continuously pay every month (this is a nice way to keep track of all of those subscriptions you don’t use anymore). Under that chart, I write down any sources of income into my bank account that month… yes, this includes Venmo’s from friends. Again, this section is from a month when I was in school and barely working, so your income will probably look different.
Under the ‘income’ section, you can see my little net income equation. Here, I add up my gross income, or the amount of income I had throughout the month, then subtract the amount I have spent (found at the bottom of the ‘expenses’ chart). The sum shows me how much money I have actually made that month!
Under my equation, I have some sections set aside for financial tips, net income, a quote, and my net income goal (decided before the month started). You can use the extra room for anything you want! This is where some creativity come into the process.
That is the general layout of a finance tracker. All you have to do is write down some of your purchases, and the simple act of doing so will improve your relationship with your bank account immediately.
To make this tracker, you can use any old journal you have laying around and write it in. If you want a digital copy, you can find one here and print it out:
I hope this finance tracker helps to keep you and your bank account happy! Talk soon,
