This is the third instalment of my Bullet Journal Series. In this post I will discuss the different ways in which you can use your bullet journal to monitor your finances.
Bullet Journal- Financial Tracking
Track Expenses
One of the most important aspects of financial tracking is tracking your expenses. Having a page or two in your bullet journal every month to track that month’s expenses can help you understand where your money is going and identify important trends.
There are many categories under the umbrella of expenses. I like to divide mine up so that I can get a clearer view of where my money is going and maybe find places where I can cut back and save.
I usually set out two pages in my monthly bullet journal for general expenses. These are anything from my weekly groceries to a book that I purchased on a whim to a meal out. I make a grid with columns for date, price, shop and item.
I also have a traffic light system for understanding my spending. In my grid I add red to items that I probably shouldn’t have bought, orange to items that were a treat and green to essentials. This way I can monitor where my money is going and direct myself towards more healthy spending habits.
Another important part of my expenses that I dedicate a page to are bills. I know that I have to pay certain bills every month and so I use my bills page as a way to track whether I have paid them and how much they were. This way I am able to stay on top of my bills and identify when I may be using too much of one commodity. This helps me save a lot of money.
Saving Goals
We all know that we should be saving for something. Whether that is a house, a car or a holiday. Having a page or a few pages in your bullet journal dedicated to monitoring your savings can help you stay on top of them and hopefully make them grow.
In my bullet journal I have a page dedicated to saving for my masters as well as a page dedicated to travelling. I have customised them with quotes and small drawings to help motivate me to save for them.
Income Tracker
There is no point in monitoring your savings and your expenses without monitoring your income. With an income tracker you can create budgets for all of your expenses and stop yourself getting into financial trouble by going over.
It doesn’t matter what your income is, whether it is a salary, wage, student loan or government benefits, tracking the amount of money and where it goes will help you save money in the long run.
Final Thoughts
Financial tracking is an incredibly useful aspect of bullet journalling. As with all bullet journal pages and spreads you can customise it in any way you like. As always you can find design inspiration on social media sites such as Pinterest and instagram.
Of course bullet journalling is entirely tailored towards you. So if you decide to only track your bills or your general spending then that is perfectly fine. You can also create your own pages, perhaps for your small business if you have one or for your children. Make your bullet journal work for you.
I hope this helps all you Selfish Darlings keep track of your finances and help you save money in the long run.
