I am by no means an authority on budgeting money. However, over the years, I've gotten a lot better about tracking and saving my money. Here are my top 7 tips on tracking and saving money that have worked for me so far.
1. When saving, don't deprive yourself.
If you're saving 50% of your paycheck but know you could use that money for other things, re-evaluate your savings plan. Also, it's completely OK to treat yourself every now and then. Get that haircut. Get those nails done. Buy that purse. Get that tattoo. As long as you're not "in the red," (or running really low on funds) it's ok to treat yourself. Also, it helps if you have in mind a specific amount of money you want to save. For example, my goal is $1500 because I want to buy a car. To reach my goal, I plan on setting aside a certain amount of money from each of my paychecks to help me get to that goal.
2. If you know you've been spending a lot of money, don't ignore your bank account. Actually LOOK at it and check your balance.
I cannot stress this enough because I was also that person. When I would spend a lot of money at once, I just avoided my bank app at all costs. This is a horrible habit because you should always know how much you have in your account for two reasons: 1) You don't want to overdraft any of your money and get hit with overdraft fees. 2) In case you run into identity theft, you should track your spending so you can know if there's any suspicious activity on your account.
3. Set up text alerts.
I set up text alerts for whenever I use my credit card so I can keep track of my spending on my credit card and make sure there's no suspicious activity or spending on my account.
4. Save your coins--literally!
I save ALL of my change whenever I use cash. I keep it in a mason jar and then cash it in at the end of the year. Change truly adds up. Try saving your change for 6 months and see how much you have at the end. The number might surprise you ;)
5. Save your single dollar bills if you can.
I also try to save my dollar bills. After I cash in my change, I have a hefty amount of dollar bills to add to my little end-of-the-year bonus.
6. Download an app that'll help you understand where your money is going.
I use my bank app, credit card app, and Mint to track my spending and budgeting. It alerts me when my checking account is low, when I have a bill coming up, and so much more. I also linked my student loan accounts to it so I can track how much student loan debt I have. Mint also provides a weekly summary of your spending for you.
7. Become financially literate.
I never learned about finance and spending in high school and college. All I learned was to not fall for the pre-approved credit card schemes that corporations use to trap young adults. I didn't learn how to balance a checkbook, track my spending, budget, or anything else like that. The internet and library are your friends! Take a couple of minutes out of your week to read about managing debt, how loan consolidation works, and how to file your taxes.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored.