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Day 1 The Flow of Money

 

LEARN IT

Welcome to Take Control Bootcamp! In these two weeks, we’ll take stock of where you are with your finances and help you figure out where you want to go. The first week will be devoted to assessing your current financial picture and spending habits. The second week, we’ll help you dream up some smart financial goals and work out a plan to transform them into reality. By the end of these two weeks, you’ll feel in charge of your finances, and your money will be on the road to supporting the life you want.

An Easy Way to Log Your Spending

Before we get started, we want to make sure you’re set up and ready to take full advantage of this bootcamp. That means logging your spending, seeing where you’ve been spending for the past few months, and being able to create and track financial goals. There’s something to be said for keeping receipts and a classic little notebook. But things have a tendency to be lost or miswritten, and frankly, it’s just a lot of work and math. Who has the time?

An easy way to log your spending is through our Money Center. You connect your accounts (don’t worry–LearnVest has bank-level security and no ability to move money in and out of accounts) and each transaction is automatically logged for you.

You’ll be able to see every credit card transaction, all your savings transfers, each of your paychecks and every ATM withdrawal. Plus, you can enter all your cash transactions and–best of all–set your savings goals. Now, no more excuses! You will know where every penny goes and can start saving today.

The Money Center is also key to completing many of the tasks in this bootcamp. If you haven’t connected your accounts yet, do so here.

Now you’re prepared to take control of your money! To start, we’ll take a look today at some basic ways of gauging the current state of your finances.

GET INVOLVED

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  • VVV

    I have a small log tracker that fits nicely in my purse, which I got from Staples. I keep track of everything that I make purchases on and I make sure to account for bills that need to be paid before the date comes up to make sure that I have enough money. 

  • APMWW

    I use Mint.com on my computer and iPhone.  Best free app there is.

  • Laurakdea477

    My excel spreadsheets I developed for myself back in ’08.  I have 4 years of every expense tracked!

  • Keazzie

    I use my quicken software and manually enter the expenses.  I’ve gotten ride of most of the categories to simplify things. 

  • Kbear

    My fiance turned me on to Quicken. It’s not the best, but it categorizes where my expenses are going. For instance, every time I buy a coffee or lunch, I mark it “Eat Out.” Seeing how much I spend on food outside of my fridge has helped me curb excess spending and thought of creative ways to save money.

  • Brocko

    I’m terrible at this…probably one of the reasons I need learn vest.  Anyone have any tricks or tips on how to be diligent in tracking spending???  

    • Lisa

      Use a debit card for everything – even if its $1
      Once a week take the time to categorize in a spreadsheet or easy software. When you take it in little bits it is not overwhelming
      Work up to using a software

      • Brocko

         Thanks Lisa.

    • Nnshelle

      try tracking your spending through mint.com

  • sags

    I´m just starting to do it, and I´ve chosen Spend recommended above, lest´s see how it goes… I´m sure I´m going to be surprised on how much I spend on little “insignificant” things that sum up to big expenses

    • Lisa

      I was shocked how much I spent on pizza and wings – LOL

  • Lisa

    I use Quickbooks, and each family memeber is a “class” Not only do I know how much we spend on food, clothes, education, but I also know how much each family member spends. Have been tracking this for over 15 years.

  • Sean

    Quicken,  I try to categorize everything
     

  • http://twitter.com/StephanieHunge1 Stephanie Hungerford

    I track the balance through text messages so I know if I have enough to cover a purchase or not

  • Rani

    just downloaded iXpenseit! thanks for the resources!

  • Nnshelle

    Mint.com is awesome for keep tracking of multiple account and they have an app for android and iphone

  • TAB

    Idon’t. I need a non time consuming mthod. any ideas?

    • Palladay

      mint.com

  • Patti jamison

    I keep a list of what has to be paid monthly and the amount,.  The everyday junk stuff I dont

  • Liz_henderson

    I use an Excel spreadsheet. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce-Epper/100000274032080 Bruce Epper

    GnuCash

  • Judith

    quicken

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=677299799 Renee Dubriel

    budget

  • P-Riv

    I use mint.com and excel

  • http://c0rinne.net Corinne

    I use Mint and Quicken.

  • Cmvd

    Ive been using quicken but notice that sometimes the balances get incorrect somehow….which is always a hassle to fix.

  • anicks

    if you’re looking to try to cut back, i had a financial adviser who made me start plugging in my expenditures into an iPhone app… (the free one is called iXpenselt Lite) the act of plugging in the costs made me more aware of how frequently i was buying small things, and made me think twice about making a purchase.   for my budget I use an excel spreadsheet

  • Chris

    I use an excel spreadsheet and Mint.

  • Palladay

    Mint.com

  • SamAnne

    Not with this!  I tried connecting all my accounts, but this database doesn’t include 2 banks that I do heavy monthly income and expense transactions with, and the picture it builds is incomplete to the point that it’s useless.  Nice concept, if your finances are severely basic, but not if you have multiple sources of income or banks they don’t connect to.

    • AldenWicker

      Hi SamAnne,

      Thanks for your comment. We are working on getting every bank supported, but it will take some time as there are thousands out there! I hope you’ll request the two banks through this form (http://bit.ly/SXEzv2) if you haven’t already so we can get working on them right away. You can also manually enter transactions, which will still give you the functionality of the Money Center that doesn’t come with an Excel spreadsheet or notebook. 

      Hope that helps!
      Alden

    • AldenWicker

      Hi SamAnne,

      Thanks for your comment. We are working on getting every bank supported, but it will take some time as there are thousands out there! I hope you’ll request the two banks through this form (http://bit.ly/SXEzv2) if you haven’t already so we can get working on them right away. You can also manually enter transactions, which will still give you the budgeting and advice functionality of the Money Center that doesn’t come with an Excel spreadsheet or notebook. 

      Hope that helps!

  • Diane Ortega

    I am trying to transition to cash only-take out my budgeted amount biweekly.

  • Letessha

    I use my bankcard to pay bills

  • Gonzog

    I USE ONLINE BANKING

  • Ddganey

    online banking to see my financial results.

  • Jguinn81

    I use an app on my Android phone called “Checkbook”

  • Dorothy

    I use YNAB too. It’s the best!

  • Roxanne

    I maintain a master spreadsheet using Google Docs that tracks both my personal and our joint expenses, in addition to our debt obligations.  It provides for both my husband and I to have separate defined discretionary allowances – the gory details of which are not tracked (because it would drive us bonkers).  We also set aside a defined amount for joint “fun” like date nights (again, gory details not tracked). The spreadsheet is set up to forecast the next 12 months at minimum (currently it forecasts through to Dec 2013).  I’ve been using this spreadsheet (or variants of it) for almost ten years now and it has ensured that I never miss a payment and I am very clear on exactly what is coming in/going out on a semi-monthly basis.  

  • Sandra

    I usually check my on lne bank account  every morning to check balances and to see what has cleared and what is still pending.

  • Mickbey83

    This program seems pretty awesome.  I used Mint.com before this, but I like this one a little better.  A little easier to use and include a few more features that mint doesn’t have :)

  • cc1672

    Track everything in an excel spreadsheet.

  • Ptamaribuchi

    I try to keep my receipts but then I don’t input them! This lemon app looks promising I wish it was integrated with this service.

  • Erinzinlove

    I use mint.com to manage my finances. The concept is basically the same format as learnvest. The best part is that they have a secured app for your android or iphone! 

    • AldenWicker

      Hi Erinzinlove,

      LearnVest also has an iPhone app, which is rated five stars in the app store and includes our articles as well. It’s free, so it would cost you nothing to check it out. :)

      Thanks!
      Alden

  • Psterling92

    I just watch my account balance…

  • Babystac7431

    mint iphone app was too complicated. I love LearnVest for iphone. Its so user friendly and is really getting me motivated to set goals.

  • Doris Sayyadeth

    Microsoft Excel

  • Meca

    I’ve tried using a notebook. I’ve collected receipts and logged them in my checking register. I am currently trying to budget weekly to see if that works better than me budgeting monthly.

  • Tami22

    I’ve used Quicken for years.  It’s getting kind of bloated and Intuit has started requiring upgrades to add features I have no interest in, so I’m getting a bit tired of it.  But all my info is in there already, and any other app I check out requires me to input everything from scratch (hello, LV!)  Even Mint.com, which is now owned by Intuit, didn’t provide a method for importing data from Quicken.  it’s just too much work to set up all my accounts all over again.

  • Jana

    EEBA Envelope System app for Android; also Internet-based so you can update at home or out on the go with your app. Helps both my husband and I know how much money we have left in our Groceries, Dining, Gas, and Blow Money funds.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=640930284 Andy Anderson

    I used to use mint.com and still do a lot, but right now I am just waiting for my first real paycheck in two weeks.

  • hoopere

    reviewing my accounts online, writing out bills and due dates and making sure my money goes to that particular bill

  • claude

    concerned good advice. thanks a lot.

  • MommyOf3

    I just check my account

  • jlcoulter

    Im now using learvest, but previously I used the app mint and bill chonicle

  • Natalie

    I have a monthly budget that I stick to every month

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