My Workflow for Tracking My Cash Every Month
Managing your money is boring. Here's my budgeting routine to do it efficiently.
Here’s a weird fact about me: I can tell you how much I have spent on groceries every month going all the way back to 2008.
Maybe even earlier.
Every expense, categorized and acknowledged.
What sent me down this path?
My dream growing up was to buy a house and I wanted to have $100,000 saved up to do it.
I realized there was only one path to that goal - I had to earn more money than I spent every month.
So naturally, I needed to figure out how to make a budget.
To this day, it’s never been anything fancier than a spreadsheet.
It’s worked so well.
By 2015 (age 26), I had paid for my university degree in cash and saved $120,000 to buy my townhouse.
Now, I know talking about budgeting and numbers can be EXTREMELY exciting (sarcasm), but it needs to be done.
So today, I wanted to walk you through my “Budgeting Routine”, step by step, and show you my workflow to make it as straightforward, fast and simple as possible.
First, You Need a System
If this is going to work for you, you’ll need somewhere to do your budget.
There are free or paid services like You Need a Budget (YNAB). Google Sheets & Excel are great options too!
(Want some inspiration? Check out my whole budgeting system here.)
I gave mine a name: The Cash Flow Dashboard.
Once you have your system in place, here is my dorky, “day in the budgeting life” workflow that you are welcome to steal.
The Rhythm
Before we start, it’s important to establish a cadence for your budgeting routine.
When I was first getting started, I’d do this bi-weekly, usually the day after my pay cheque hit my bank account.
When I started my business, it morphed into weekly because the income from my business varied so much every month.
Now, over 15 years into this system, I’ve settled happily on two weekends per month, once around the 15th and the second around the 30th.
Plus, it ensures I’m never late on a credit card payment.
I haven’t missed one ever.
The Set Up
So let’s get down to the workflow.
First, I open up my Cash Flow Dashboard Google Sheet in a new browser window.
I condense the window size to take up half of my screen, usually the right side.
Next, I open up a new browser window with all of my credit card statements and online banking apps in separate tabs.
This is usually 3-5 tabs, depending on how many cards we are using.
Currently, we have 2 main cards, a Mastercard for Costco and a Aeroplan Rewards Visa for everything else.
I condense the banking tabs window to a half screen size and put it on the left side of my computer screen.
End Result: Left side of the screen are banking tabs, right side is the spreadsheet.
The Spreadsheet
At the top, I indicate the date that the budget was last updated.
This is so I know which date to start categorizing from when I jump in next time.
(ie: If the date says November 4, I can pick up right where I left off)
I go through each line item on the credit card statement one at a time, categorizing each expense into the correct column.
(Get inspiration from my budget layout here!)
Each category sums up all transactions for that month.
For example, if I had 3 line items for “groceries”, in Google Sheets I would add up all 3 amounts.
Formula: =349.33+78.42+498.33 (hit enter)
That way I can see the running total for each month.
I do one credit card at a time.
After I finish categorizing each credit card, I write down the amount owing on the card (ie: $1298.44) and then move on to the next card.
Systematic, one at a time.
When I finish with the card, I close the corresponding tab at the top of the browser.
I then go through my main bank account and categorize any expenses that were taken by autopay, like our life insurance.
Pay Off All Balances
After everything is categorized, I am usually left with the balance of 2 credit cards that I need to pay off.
I pop into my online banking and make bill payments for these amounts to the corresponding cards.
When I have finished this system, I know exactly how our spending has been allocated so far for the month and all my credit cards are paid off.
A Few Unexpected Benefits
Besides feeling on top of your finances, this biweekly system has been great for a few other reasons:
We know exactly how we stack up against our monthly budget. If we allot $100 for restaurants for the month and we are at $92 by November 15th, we know that the rest of the month will be meals from home. This stops us from blowing our budget.
You know what your life costs. And once you start tracking, it might shock you where you are leaking money each month.
In the last year alone, I’ve caught (and reversed) nearly $70 in mysterious bank fees and overcharges by both my phone AND internet company.
A family member accidentally charged our credit card with their Amazon purchase (oops!).
Staying on top of your credit card purchases and payments means you don’t run up debt and end up paying extortionate amounts of interest or late fees.
You get to move your money goals forward so much faster. Whether that’s identifying that you need to cut a few costs or boost your income, the next steps become super clear.
I could probably go on, but you get the point 😉
Final Thoughts
Numbers don’t lie. Sometimes it’s hard to look at them so plainly and see all of your choices, good or bad, in one place.
Maybe it means you have to own up to a few less ideal decisions or come to terms with your consumerism & shopping habits.
It can feel hard.
Avoiding the numbers or telling yourself “we make enough” or “we aren’t in debt” might work, but only if you are okay coasting through life.
But me?
I’ve always had dreams the size of mountains.
To get up those mountains, I need full awareness of the path there and all the components along the way.
This system and flow has allowed my family to reach financial independence by 33 years old and for both of us to become fully work optional at 36.
All of our bills are covered by our investments, including 6 months of travel per year.
Only because we know our numbers intimately.
So this is my invitation to you.
If you have a mountain ahead with your dream waiting for you at the top, go after it.
Get so clear on your numbers.
They are such an asset to you and a powerful weapon if you know how to wield them.
Happy tracking.
Tanessa