Keep A Money Journal Everyday
I have had a money journal for as long as I can remember. When I’m on vacation I use my diary to write down everything that I want to see and what I’ve spend that day. My friends were going to steal one of my diaries and print a page on a T-shirt because they think it is hysterical. When I’m on a long plane or train ride I love to snuggle up with my diary and chart new goals or new ways that I want to tackle work. It relaxes me to take all of my ideas out of my head and place then in my handy book.
When I get a new money diary I’ll write what I want my net worth to be in a set amount of time on the fist page. I then write all of my goals that I want to achieve on the first couple of pages. I write down what cars I want to buy, trips I want to go on, business successes (like writing a new best selling book), personal training goals or yoga classes per month I’d like to attend. It is nice to have the first few pages full of all of my ambitions so when I’m having a crappy day I can quickly flip to the front of the book and recharge!
I also 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 $6.60! 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. I’m thinking of buying some options on stocks that have been beat up over the last month and I’ll capture those ideas to execute in the morning when the market opens. I’ll also write down current stock prices so when I go back to see if my idea that I didn’t execute would have worked or not. It’s right there in black and white.
Go out now and get your own money journal. Be sure to get one that reflects your personality, make sure it’s substantial (just liek your attitude towards money, and it needs to have a pocket in the back for receipts, cash or other documents when you travel. But make sure it’s on sale.
Love your money and write about your spending and investing ideas EVERY day,
Dave
