askye | (no subject)

I wanted to make some changes and be smarter about my money but I try todo things and then get bogged down because they don't work. I'mnot one of those people who can wake up one day and just make a sweeping change.

I suck at that.

What evidentally does work for me is taking micro steps. That's how I became a vegetarian and other changes I 've made (that stuck) where tiny tiny steps.

So my first step is buying one less diet coke at work for the next 2 weeks. I can do that! it's totally doable and so far I've done it. Then after that I'm going to make another micro change. I'm starting to keep a record of how much I spend on a google spreadsheet but I haven't done that every day. But that's okay, because at least I'm doing it a couple times of week and it's just an experiment.

I think I'm going to introduce this idea to Mom. She eats out a lot and takes me with her and so she never is eating home made good food and I don't as much as I should and it's a waste of money for her. So I'm going to suggest to here that every other week we make dinner, maybe on the weekends. That's not a huge thing and I think it will work.

I'll see.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Good for you! This seems like a really manageable plan, and a great reminder, too.

That's an eminently sensible way to go about things. Hope it all works out the way you want it to, and that you continue to find little steps that work for you.

Small steps, yay! The DH and I have also started using mint.com to see where the money goes (it's free, and needs some tweaking because it will sometimes mis-file things, but it seems to work well with a minimum of fuss).

I use Excel to track my budget and expenses. The big thing is actually the budget. I can see where my money is going and if I need to adjust for anything I can plan long term for it and it's not a huge honking surprise. I don't update daily, but every two to three days and it's often enough to keep a handle on everything. Good luck!