I’ve excelled the most in my fitness and working out at the gym when I take the time to track exercises, the weight I’m lifting and reps. I also have found that consistency is the victory, and most people have a hard time following through. Tracking keeps me consistent, so I have expanded my tracking beyond the gym and track my daily habits of reading and other areas of personal growth. I also track our family spending and here are a few reasons why:
1. Follow our budget
We use our budget as a monthly plan. If I don’t track our spending, I have no idea how we are doing on our monthly plan.
2. Proactively spend our money and see trends
Tracking our spending helps me ensure we are in the driver’s seat and proactively spending our money on the things that are meaningful. Tracking helps us see trends overtime and identify areas we need to watch closer or change.
3. Ensure we hit our financial goals
The primary reason we have a budget and track spending is so that we can ensure we use our resources towards the most important priorities of giving, saving and investing.
Tracking takes a little bit of effort, but it’s easy once established. You can make tracking easy by using software like YNAB which automatically imports transactions from your financial institutions so you can easily assign them to categories.
What do you think? Comment below!