9 Oct 2014

Should I Record My Expenses?

YES! Please record your expenses. Why should you record your expenses? Here is the answer.

Most people cannot believe how much they spend. The only way to really track something is to write it down. 

I asked a colleague to estimate his expenses for the day. Let us call him John. John told me that he spends about Rs.200 a day. I requested that he open an excel sheet and note down each expense. It looked something like this :

Auto rickshaw ride from home to work - Rs.110
Breakfast - Rs.55
Lunch - Rs.65
Bus ride from home to work - Rs.50
Recharged Cell Phone - Rs.200

Total expenses for ONE DAY - Rs. 480

This person was shocked to find out how much he had spent in one day.

Next, I requested that he jot down whatever he can remember since the 1st of the month since it is 9th October and only 9 days have passed. He noted down rent, cell phone bills, grocery shopping, movie theater trips during the weekend and the excel sheet total was up to Rs.17,565.

Rs.17,565 spent in 9 days.

It was an eye opener for John. He has promised to jot every single expense but let us see if he sticks to it.

The only way to track expenditure is by penning it down. Let me rephrase that. The only way to have an idea of your expenditure is by writing down every Paise you spend. 

Please use whatever tool suits you - excel sheets, cell phones, computers etc.

Of course, there is the good old pen and paper!



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