Whilst 2023 hasn’t been the best year in terms of money for me, I’m excited to put that all behind me and start afresh in 2024. That’s why I’ve created a guide for you (and myself) to share my new money routine. Here’s how I track my finances.
CREATE YOUR SYSTEM
Before I did anything with my finances, I wanted to have a proper system in place. I’ve tried a budget planner and apps previously but now I use a Google Sheets spreadsheet that I bought from Press Reset. I’ll be using that for the first time in 2024 as before that, I’ve been using a template from an old business membership I was a part of.
This new template is a little more detailed than previous ones I’ve used because I’m finally at a point where I want to take a closer look at where my money is and what I’m doing with it.
TRACK INCOME
With my new money routine as part of my reset, I track my income weekly by filling out my spreadsheet. I count everything from client income, side hustles, and even refunds. In my old routine, I’d update this spreadsheet every time I had any income in my bank account. However, you wouldn’t believe how much time I wasted on this. Now it takes me five minutes a week to just look at my banking apps and filling in my income tracker!
TRACK EXPENSES
After my income tracker, I move on to my expenses tracker. This usually takes a little longer than my income, simply because there are usually more entries. Again, I use my Monzo and Chase apps to find every spend I’ve made and update my spreadsheet. I also add my business expenses from my business bank account at this point. Whilst I have a separate spreadsheet for my business accounts, I still include them on my general finance trackers.
CATEGORISE EVERY TRANSACTION
This is very important to me and a crucial step of budgeting. Currently, I categorise by colour coding my spreadsheets. Whilst I wouldn’t say I’m a visual person, it makes it so much easier when I’m totalling up at the end of every month in my reset! Plus it makes your spreadsheets not only functional but pretty too!
SET UP BUDGET
Right now, I’m not necessarily budgeting but I do like to look at my spending for the following week or month. Planned expenses, regular payments/subscriptions, and savings pots are the main areas that I look at. It’s important for me to look at my plans for the upcoming week and month, work out how much I’ll be spending and set up how much I need to save up for future plans.
REVIEW FINANCES
This is a step that I’ve included in both my weekly and money routines because it’s important to analyse my finances. It’s not a particularly detailed process though. I simply look at how much I earned and spent that week and try to spot any patterns or problems. Again, it only takes a few minutes but it can help with budgeting. Being self-employed, my income is sporadic so my expenses need to be figured out before the month starts.
CHOOSE YOUR SAVINGS
This was a step I had fully intended to include in 2023. However, my income took a bit of a dip and I was only really covering my expenses. I’m more optimistic for 2024 so I now plan to add into my savings pots at the end of every month. Your savings could be anything from a first/new home fund to an emergency fund. Or they could simply be a few short-term saving pots, such as travel or beauty. From there, you can create a plan: how much you need, how much you’ll save and how often.
SET SOME GOALS
Whilst your savings goals can qualify here, some of my favourite goals to set are no-spend days, an income goal, and side hustle goals too. I tend to set these monthly. Whilst I don’t always achieve them, it’s still good to track my progress. Annual goals are great to set too. Just make sure you don’t just set them at New Year and then forget about them! When I’m setting my monthly goals, I also look back on my yearly goals to make sure I’m on track at least.
And that’s how I track my finances and will do in 2024. I’m actually hoping to revamp my money blog but it’s not a priority just yet. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram too if you enjoyed my guide on how I track my finances.
