Ok, you heard us talk about it, but here it is:
Card use vs cash, depending on what study you find, could be 12-18% more. Some studies report as much as 80-100% on individual items when faced with pay now (cash) vs pay later (credit card) for something that is only available NOW – for example tickets.
First write down all the INCOME (money coming IN to your bank – your paycheck, etc) for a month. Add that up. That’s your total income for a month.
Then go through you bank statement, and credit card statement and assign them buckets (Groceries, Restaurants, Entertainment, Treats, Power, Rent, Phones, Cable, Car Payment, etc) Add those up, and that’s your spending. I bet you just learned something about yourself, and where you might need to make a few changes. Let’s start slow, though!
Example Income / Expense sheet