Track your Transactions

Jan 31

Written By Jen Lightwood

$5.14 Latte ☕️ because that’s how to start your day…

$28.20 Gas⛽️ because your partner left you the orange light…

$10.11 Sandwich 🥙 because you forgot your lunch at home…

$84.09 🥘 Amazon purchase because an instant pot will inspire you to cook more…

$50.29 Groceries 🛒 because you need to make dinner…

$24.96 Take-out 🍕 because now you don’t feel like cooking…

$8.99/month New Streaming Service 🎬 because they have the one movie you actually haven’t seen yet…

All in a single day.

Each and every day we are faced with an inexhaustible number of financial choices, especially since we transitioned from buying in-person to on-line, and from paying with cash to cards. Financial transactions are literally becoming more and more invisible, like air, and stored in “the cloud.”

Not to mention, in our present digital life, we are exposed to up to 10,000 advertisements, all in a single day! No wonder we often feel so overwhelmed when it comes to money!

Take your power back by tracking your transactions. Start with committing to one week of writing down each and every financial transaction in a journal. At the end of the week, look for patterns that reveal financial behaviors and habits that you know you need (and want) to change.

To make that everlasting change, support yourself with personal finance software to “see” and “account” for those invisible transactions. Connecting your bank and credit card accounts to an accounting program provides you a powerful tool to manage of your money. Take time each week to categorize and review your transactions. Nothing will cultivate your mental awareness and aptitude about money than by tracking your transactions.

I wish I could tell you there is a perfect tracking system out there… but I can’t. My dream software captures all financial accounts + in real-time + with “true” financial reports (not just graphs) in one place! Here is what can share from personal experience to hopefully lead you in the right direction:

JEN’S PERSONAL FINANCE SOFTWARE REVIEW

QUICKEN If you are a PC user, Quicken still leads the pack in features. However, Quicken for Mac is inferior and lags the Windows user experience. What I love about Quicken is that all your financial information is in one place with personal financial statements. And from an accountant’s perspective, statements are one of the best tools to reflect on your finances to make more informed decisions.🤓
PRICE ≈$35-$100/per year depending on which version you select.
MINT This software if an offspring of Quicken and is great for quick check-in on your spending compared to your goals. While you can add all of your financial accounts and see your rolling net worth, Mint does not offer personal financial statements. 😀+ 😥
PRICE: FREE
QUICKBOOKS FOR SELF-EMPLOYED This software is actually a quite fun because you select business or personal for each transaction (which is great if you are using the same account(s) for both personal and business transactions. BUT… it only provides reporting for your business and excludes your personal stuff. 🤨
PRICE: $15/month
OTHERS THAT I AM STILL RESEARCHING…
Personal Capital PRICE: FREE
YNAB PRICE: $12/month
Moneydance PRICE: $50/software license
Banktivity PRICE: ≈$4-$8/month