Keeping a spending journal is a fantastic idea for young and old alike. The main reason to keep a spending journal is so that it acts as a ledger for you to help you balance your financial situation. By keeping a spending journal, you will be better able to figure out how to budget, and avoid debt. Becoming a smart consumer will be more readily achieved through the process of keeping a spending journal.
In today’s day and age, money is no longer seen in the same way that it once was years ago. Money, or the actual legal tender itself, is rarely carried these days, and as such, is not noticed when it goes missing. Before, if your wallet was light, you pulled on the spending reins. Now, it is rather commonplace to use your debit card, credit card, or any other method of payment that you are currently using. This is the same principle as Casinos use to keep you spending more money. A tiny poker chip is not valued as money in the proper fashion. Debit cards are the same notion.
A spending journal will help a teenager learn how to budget and set financial goals, and strive to meet said goals. This is a great way to help a teenager or adolescent the value and meaning of money. This is a lesson that can be used for decades to come, so it is smart parenting.
An adult can easily use a spending journal in order to keep track of their tiny little expenses that seem insignificant at the time. The daily trip through the local Tim Horton’s or McDonald’s adds us in a heartbeat. A spending journal may help you to realize that you are spending too much money on inconsequential items, and that you need to better budget yourself, lest you find debt knocking on your door.
An elderly person can use a spending journal to remind themselves of where they have spent any of their money, especially when the mind is starting to play tricks. Any person can be forgetful, but the elderly sometimes have a more difficult time remembering than their more youthful counterparts. Elderly people also tend to find themselves on much stricter budgets and fixed incomes, so a spending journal can help keep their expenses in check.
A spending journal can be used by anybody, and it will definitely allow you the opportunity to see just where all of your hard earned money is going each and every month. Keeping a spending journal will help to teach you how to stretch a dollar to its maximum, and will allow you to see the error of your ways. Becoming a smart consumer takes time and practice, and is a skill that needs to be honed.