Many years ago I read an article by a group called “Smoke Enders.” The first step that they recommended was to raise one’s awareness as to when and how often they had a cigarette. They suggested that a smoker place a small note card in his packet of cigarettes and each time s/he had a cigarette, they mark down the time and date of that smoke. I think the same approach might be helpful for a person who wanted to bring more discipline to their financial situation.
Go purchase a small, inexpensive pocket calendar. Tear out the week’s page and place it in your wallet or purse. Then for that week, every time you spend any money on even the smallest thing, mark down when and what it was. What you are doing is building a financial diary of your small expenditures. Keep this record for at least a month.
Now review your financial diary. Are there times of the day or week that you are more likely to spend some money. You are building an awareness of where the “pocket change” goes. Small expenditures are not wrong, but becoming aware of where and how can enable you to begin to make choices. You might also be surprised at how some spending is affected by the time of day or week. More on this tomorrow.
If you and your spouse both agreed to keep such a diary, and then compare them, you could learn a lot about your family spending habits. Fair warning, agree ahead of time that this is not a time for accusations but simply building awareness. Agree ahead of time that when you review the month, each of you can only comment on your own spending patterns.
If you have been having difficulty meeting bills, this might be a step towards some wise decision making.
