OMG! Where Is My Money Going?

We have all been there. How often do you check your back account, blissfully thinking – ‘oh yea, I have at least $300 in there.’. With utter confidence you open your bank app and see, *GASP* only $3.21? Suddenly that confidence morphs into denial, panic, anger and even…. tears.

Initially we think to ourselves; ‘This isn’t right! Where did my money go? I swear I only went out once this week!’.

Once we cross the denial phase, we enter the panic phase. We begin to break a sweat as we scroll through every transaction. ‘Oh, yea I went out three more times than I thought I did. Oh yeah I did buy those new jeans. Oh yeah coffee…’.

This reality check then brings us to feeling guilt over our lack of control over our expenditures. But imagine if you knew what was going on from the start? Imagine having a set of Big Brother eyes watching over your finances, keeping a regular track of where your money is going?

Here are three excellent benefits of why transparency is a good thing when it comes to keeping an eye on your dollars:

​Makes you self-aware of what is going on

Becoming self-aware is SO POWERFUL. When you track your expenses, you can begin to analyse where your money goes and how you spend it. This will in turn help you identify bad spending habits that you can work to change in order to make your money work for you. Pair understanding of where your cash is going with your financial situation, you have a recipe for success.

Keeps the household within budget

If there is no monitoring of your finances, then you won’t know when to stop spending or even what your boundaries are. How are you supposed to budget if you don’t even know where the money is going? It doesn’t need to take hours every day, but if you consistently keep an eye on those expenses, you will be able to get out of debt and make moves towards your future.

Gets you where you want to be – achieving long term goals

Always keep the eye on the prize. Whether you are saving up for that trip around Europe or to pay off that credit card – how are you going to achieve these goals without knowing where your money is going? Through transparency, you are forced to confront your spending and this makes it easier to change what’s standing in the way of reaching your financial goals. Is eating out every other night or having drinks with the crew twice a week really that necessary if it’s getting between you and what you really want?

‘I see your point, but this is really hard to manage on my own.’ Don’t worry, we here at Visia Financial Services love helping you keep watch over your spending movements; ultimately advising you to make appropriate changes for your future. A fantastic rule of thumb is that true wealth is built when you spend less than you make. To do that you need to know what you are spending.

Kora Drage is an Authorised Representative of Financial Wisdom Limited ABN 70 006 646 108, AFSL 231138. The information contained in this article may contain general advice. It does not take into account your financial circumstances and objectives. You should consider talking to a financial adviser and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making a financial decision. Any views and opinions provided in this article may not reflect the views and opinions of Financial Wisdom Limited.