Economics for the Anal Retentive

In these tough economic times, and as someone who has been diligently saving for a house since I was 6, people have asked me how it is I've managed to squirrel away what I have.

The easy answer is that I'm a cheap and boring person who doesn't travel, have a hobby, or generally enjoy life to its fullest. The hard answer is that I'm an Excel nut.

Since June 2004, I have been anally keeping track of every single penny I spend and make. I developed a sophisticated Excel spreadsheet to help me watch my expenditures and check it against what I earn.

Because a friend asked to see my system, today, I'm making my insanity available to the public!

Budget and Expenses vs Earnings.xls
http://www.4shared.com/file/115964461/5c759799/Budget_and_Expenses_vs_Earnings.html

The Excel spreadsheet includes notes on how things are listed and kept track of. It can be tailored to your needs, but the point of the whole exercise is to keep track of what you spend.

Sounds easy, but most people don't have the room in their heads to remember they spent $1.73 on a cup of tea from Starbucks that morning, or that they dropped $5.89 on a bag of milk at the grocery store.

How do you keep track? Here are some tips:

• Keep receipts.
• Write it down in a little notebook, if you have to.
  
• As soon as you come home at the end of the day, log everything you bought into your spreadsheet.
• If you're not good at that, email yourself or set up an alarm to remind you to look at your spreadsheet every day.

Any financial planner will tell you that keeping track of what you spend is essential to your financial well-being. Whether you want to be as nit-picky about it as me remains to be seen...