Making a spending plan is a key to being on top of your finances. When you look at the income you can realistically expect and then decide in advance how you want to spend it, that plan puts you in control; it helps you ensure your money is used where it matters most.

But is a spending plan all you need? The answer is a definite NO. Lots of people make spending plans but still don’t gain control. Why?  Because even the best spending plan is useless if you don’t FOLLOW it. And that doesn’t happen automatically. You need a strategy.

The good news is that for most people, part of their spending plan is easy to follow; fixed expenses like rent and other bills are predictable, and are usually paid just once a month. The tricky part for most people is staying within their planned limits for flexible expenses (groceries, fun, etc).

It comes down to questions like this:
If you plan to spend $320 on groceries for the month, how do you make sure you don’t spend more than that?

The answer? Keeping track. The only way to make sure you follow through with your plan is to have a strategy for checking up on your spending throughout the month. There are “old-fashioned” ways to do that, like writing down spending in each category, using either written ledger charts OR computerized spreadsheets. The “envelope method” also can help you follow your plan; it involves separate envelopes containing cash for each category of spending you wish to monitor (groceries, gas, fun, etc).

There are also “apps” that can help you track. These apps work in a variety of ways: with some, you enter your spending in your mobile device as you go along; with others, your debit card spending is linked to the app, so that, for example, all purchases at the grocery store are automatically added to your running total of food expenses.

The money management apps for mobile devices are generally provided by commercial organizations, and Extension does not recommend commercial products, but consumers have found many of these apps useful. One caution I suggest, however, relates to internet security when accessing your financial accounts. Choose settings within the app that will prevent the app from connecting to your bank account via open public wi-fi.

Tracking your spending, especially in the categories where you are most at-risk of exceeding your planned amounts, is the best step you can take to make your spending plan work. And that is the way to achieve your financial goals!

For more information, find our free 4-page publication “Tracking Your Spending.”