Know your Numbers: Keep your receipts

NOTE:  This post is part of the Know Your Numbers Series, talking about how to find out and keep handy all your financial numbers. Before you can make smart choices about your finances, you have to know what you have, what you owe, and how you usually spend your money.

I'm going to skip ahead to tracking your variable expenses.  It's a good idea to start there, because you're going to need at least one month of data before you can start to look at where your money goes. 

If you don't already keep track of your monthly spending, now is the time to start!  I'm sure you'll find some unexpected info about how you spend your money .. both areas where you spend less than you think you do, and areas where you spend more.

It's not hard to do. Just grab a Ziploc bag or a large envelope and label it "receipts". This month, for every penny you spend, keep the receipt and throw it in the bag when you get home (or be like me and empty out your wallet when it's bursting at the seams). If you take cash out of the bank machine, keep the bank machine receipt.

If you want to group the expenses and add them up as you go, that's a fine idea. You can write it in a notebook, put it in a spreadsheet, or an online tool such as mint.com.  But if you don't have time for that, or you're not ready for it, don't sweat it, you can deal with the information at the end of the month after you've collected it all. (We'll be talking about ideas to record your spending later).

If you can get your spouse or partner on board, excellent. It's important to have info about your whole household's spending. But if they're not on board or you're not ready to get them involved, start out with just your own expenses for the first month. 

My Ziploc of June receipts, waiting to be added up and put into my spreadsheet.