Do you ever wonder where your money goes every month?

• Do you feel that you aren’t making any progress towards long term financial goals?
• Perhaps you feel guilty when you spend money?
• Do you manage to get out of credit card debt just to get back in again?

We spend our money to fulfill our wants and needs. When wants and needs go unexamined, you spend, spend and then spend some more because you can’t get enough of what you don’t need. When you understand the wants and needs spending relationship, it is easier to cut spending and get creative about how to fulfill needs for less money.

To determine how you currently manage your money flow, you need to understand how you actually spend. Most people do not have a monthly budget and they have no idea what they spend their money on. Most people spend a lot more, day to day, than they realise.

Regardless of what they earn in the month, often by the end of the month it would be gone.

Does that sound familiar to you?

The key to transforming anything is AWARENESS, becoming aware of your behaviour in the area that you wish to shift; in this case, the area of money.

ACTION STEP:   For the next 4 weeks keep a Money Diary and track your spending. Paying attention to your money flow is a form of self care and taking care of you is a top priority.

You can visit our free resources page and use the day to day spending template, to set yourself up to WIN in the game of money

What you will discover is that your day to day spending is often much more than you might have been aware of. The clarity comes when you consciously track where your money goes. Using this document provides a detailed account of your spending patterns. This exercise will facilitate a new level of discernment and insight around your spending patterns.

At the end of the 4 weeks, use these records to tally up your day to day spending e.g. food, petrol, clothing, gifts etc. You will begin to have a VERY good idea of what you actually spend your money on.

The totals of this sheet can be entered into your Ideal Spending Plan template.

This information allows you to redirect spending towards savings!

Whenever you spend any money write down the amount spent, that day, what you spent it on and the payment method you used, that is, cash, credit card, debit card or account card.

For example:          R 173.70 Checkers – Food – Credit Card, R 221.00 Woolworths – Gift – Cash, R 550 Shell – Petrol – Credit Card

Do this every day for 4 weeks. It is easiest to get into the habit of writing it down daily whenever you make a purchase. By doing the Money Diary exercise you will see how you spend your money in reality rather than what you think you spend it on. By spending time learning about you and your money habits, will bring an awareness of new money possibilities!

Begin to develop an understanding and respect for the money in your life, spark ideas about how to manage your money better, be better empowered to manage the money that you do have.

The Money Diary exercise is KEY to taking back your power around money, so commit to doing it for yourself. You will be amazed at what you discover after 4 weeks of tracking. It is literally a gift, to you!

To support this journey, you may want to get a copy of the 2015 Abundance Diary!

We are offering a special – TWO for the price of ONE

Order a copy for yourself and get another one FREE!

You can give it to your partner, a friend or a family member. It will make a difference in their life too!!

Spread the abundance with the gift of an Abundance Diary! Click here to order yours today!