Get your life organized

Have you ever once thought to yourself, how did I end up  spending so much money? More than likely everyone has at sometime or another, or you could be thinking this every paycheck.  It is very easy when we use plastic to pay. In fact, a Dunn & Bradstreet study found that people spend 12-18% more when using credit cards than when using cash. Truth be told most of us won't switch to paying in cash because of the added hassle.

What we can do, and I encourage you to to try this out - is better manage our finances. If you think you are spending too much money being able to track your spending long term will help you better manage your finances and see where exactly you are allocating money.  My favorite option of the moment is a website called Mint.com  It allows you to connect your bank accounts to Mint where your transactions will be organized into varying categories such as food, gas, rent etc.  For each category you are able to set  budgets  and compare  to your spending from previous months. There is also a helpful piechart which allows you to visually see the the amount your are spending on restaurants vs. groceries and more! The great thing is... IT'S FREE!


Watch this video to see it explained by the founder!

When we see our spending visualized  we can more easily step outside of ourselves   and say wow I am buying too many clothes, going out to eat too much etc.  The purpose of  of utilizing a free service such as MINT is so that  we can learn from our spending habits, stay away from impulse buys and manage our finances for the betterment of ourselves and our families.  When I started using Mint.com a couple years ago, I saw that I was spending a significant percent of my money on clothes and restaurants. If I were to  have continued that pattern of behavior I could have easily  continued into a downward spiral. Taking the time to review where your money is spent helps you tweak your budget and where your money goes. I.E.  I reduced my budget for clothes and restaurants and put the difference toward healthier and more groceries and savings.