Can you calculate how much you spent last month?

Can you calculate how much you spent last month?

As I was walking with a friend of mine this morning, we happened to pass across a boutique and the following discussion ensued: “Oh! See this beautiful jean trouser; just imagine how good this jean trouser is going to look on me”. “Wow, I love that skirt hanging in that show glass! It seems it was just made exactly for me.” I just started laughing in my mind and shortly, I replied, “Oh yeah! It will sure look good on you. Even those children’s pajamas over there will still look good on you. So I hope you have enough money with you to buy it; and even buy that blazer for me over there.”

We didn’t actually go to shop; we were just passing, on our way to a meeting. So how many times has this kind of thing happened to you? That time when you didn’t actually want to buy something but ended up buying it maybe just to save your face to satisfy an unimportant craving that you have addicted yourself with. Probably, you just saw this thing on your way back from work and liked it or you made up your mind to eat out.

Now my point here is: have you ever sat down to calculate or keep track of the amount of money you actually spend eating out or just buying those little unnecessary things that are not essential to your sustenance but just because you have gotten addicted to them? If you just sit down to calculate how much you have literally thrown away unnecessarily, you will be marveled when you just see the figure after calculation at the end of the month.

Now if you can put up just a little discipline to form that little habit of keeping track of your expenses, it will certainly give you a clue as to what and what is eating up what chunk of your income. When you have a clue as to how your income is being spent every month, it will in turn guide you on how to plan your budget and how to become a more prudent spender.

Of course you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that your savings will increase drastically which will lead to the level of your happiness when you look at the money in your account. I don’t know about you but there is this level of happiness that comes when you set a goal for yourself and actually go ahead to achieve that goal. There is a sense of self-fulfillment and a great feeling that comes with that.

So I guess you have no excuse now. Launch out and keep track of how you spend your money. Don’t always be in a hurry to spend. Always be in control of where your money should go. After all, it is your money. No one helped you make it. So take that responsibility and see yourself becoming a better manager of your resources.