Expense Tracker | Pocket Passport

Meet the newest addition to our planner accessory line-up...

Due to popular request, we've designed an Expense Passport. It's the perfect little tracker-to-go, that slots easily into the back pocket of your planner, to keep on top of your incomings and outgoings. She’s your passport to forming better money habits.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TRACKER:

• Fill in any known fixed expenses from the get-go: mortgage/rent, car payments/registration, insurance payments, phone bill, monthly membership payments, etc.
• Fill in any large savings goals ahead of time, too. 
• Record any known special expenses for the relevant months, such as significant birthdays, planned holidays, etc.
• At the start of each month, fill in any other bills - such as electricity/gas, water, card payments, etc. - and their due dates.
• Budget for recurring and variable expenses - such as weekly allowances for groceries, eating out, gym/fitness weekly payments, doctor/dental/physio appointments. 
• Set aside how much you want to allocate to each savings goal - treat this as an expense, not an afterthought or "whatever I have left at the end of the month", otherwise you'll never prioritise putting money towards your goal. 
• Calculate how much you'll have left, once all your necessary outgoing are accounted for
• Then you can plan how you will spend what's left, knowing that your essentials are already taken care of. 
• Our every little detail line item expense tracker wasn't designed for every single transaction you make each month, but rather as a way to focus on a handful of categories where you feel a little out of control. 
• EG - if you go to the supermarket 2-4 time a week, or shop at a market or collection of specialty shops, you may make lots of little transactions and not even realise exactly how much you spend on groceries. Record every transaction here, then add them up for a clear picture of how you spend
• OR - maybe you love to treat yourself to a coffee or two [or three], and the odd cocktail here or there, and have never considered how all these 'small' purchases add up. Use the every little detail section to record all of these purchases. 
• At the end of the month, using your banking app and/or the every little detail section, summarise your key areas of spending vs how you budgeted for these. If you were over budget, or are just trying to reduce spending, go through each line item and tally how many transactions were truely 'unnecessary' (EG, maybe the 3rd coffee of a day wasn't really needed...)
• If you keep going over budget, but can't find any unnecessary spending, this might be a sign that you need to reevaluate you expectations and adjust for budget accordingly (EG you budget $90 per week for groceries, but consistently spend $120, and rarely waste much... consider adjusting your budget to being $120)
• At the end of each month, take time to reflect on your spending, how you felt during the month, and how you felt looking back at it. Use the self-reflection to adjust your approach + attitude towards money and spending for the next month.