Blog

Keep A Money Diary!

August 24, 2011|By David Lester

Keep A Money Diary Everyday

I like to keep track of all of the money that is coming in and going out from my personal accounts and my business accounts.  I use MINT.com to track all my assets here and in the U.S.  I also check my online account at least once a day.  It’s a good practice to keep.

Another great way to track you money is with a money diary.  My friend Ryan just got back from Scandinavia and brought me back a really awesome notebook.  I instantly recognized it as my new money diary.  I like to jot down my daily income and expenses each day.  Today, for instance, I took back some bottles from a party I had this weekend and collected a whopping $3.60!  For the rest of the day I wrote down all of my expenses like breakfast , coffees, and another liquor store run.  I am very social. 🙂

At the end of the day I’ll tally my income for the day vs my expenses and it’s amazing how after a few weeks you’re that little bit more careful about how you spend your money.  Watching a few days go by where you spend just a bit too frivolously will be more obvious when you add up all of your spending daily.  If you just swipe away you sometimes don’t make the connection between all of your random purchases and how much you really spent.  It’s easy to forget a $65 gas bill when you don’t write everything down.  It’ll keep you on top of your spending.

The other thing I keep track of is what my next trading idea will be.  Today I saw Gold come back down and I’m thinking of writing a deep in the money call on GLD – the ETF.  That’s a way to get all the upside of Gold bullion without having the risk of my option expiring worthless.  If I choose to go a few months out into NOV for a GLD 120 call option, I’ll have all the upside as Gold blast past 1900 in the upcoming months, with the downside protection of taking the GLD ETF units at $120 if it backs off.  I believe Gold will move higher as the US and Europe borrow into infinity so it’s a great strategy for me.  I’ve sketched it all out in my money diary.

Love your money and write about your spending and investing ideas EVERY day,

Dave

GLD Nov 2011 120.000 call

(OPR: GLD111119C00120000 )

Last Trade: 37.48
Trade Time: Jul 26
Change: 0.00 (0.00%)
Prev Close: 37.48
Open: 37.48
Bid: 49.65
Ask: 53.15
Day’s Range: 37.48 – 37.48
Contract Range: N/A – N/A
Volume: 20
Open Interest: 20
Strike: 120.00
Expire Date: 18-Nov-11

 

David Lester
About David Lester

David Lester is a best selling author and professional Financial Coach, helping people be better with their money. David has written a personal finance book that breaks with traditional attitudes towards finance and describes his own philosophy to money that he has gained through his personal and professional experiences. His philosophy on money applies to many areas of everyday life, including banking, investing, goal setting, shopping and entertainment.