How to track your expenses + MORE Oct 19th

Where does the money go? It’s a question MoneySense hears from readers in all walks and stages of life. Even relatively high income earners are often puzzled to discover there’s little or nothing left over for savings once they’re finished paying the mortgage and utility bills and enjoying an occasional evening at a nice restaurant. The question is particularly pressing for couples in their 30s or 40s with children, who routinely find themselves in a mid-life financial crunch. And while it’s fundamentally important, it’s deceptively difficult to answer.
I would know. That’s because I have an unusual habit: I’ve tracked virtually every cent I’ve earned and spent over the last dozen years. I’m not kidding. I’ve diligently recorded every cup of coffee, every subway token, every library fine. I’ve tracked every stinking mortgage and auto loan payment, broken down into principal and interest. I’ve even logged every transaction between my children and the tooth fairy. I’ve done this using personal accounting software that displays my financial life as a series of line charts and bar graphs…

If you’re planning on tracking your spending for just a few months, a spreadsheet might do the trick. If all of your accounts reside at a single financial institution, its online money management tools might be adequate. But if you’re in it for the long haul, you’ll want something that’s purpose-built—and preferably tailored for Canadians. You can find plenty of mobile apps, websites and desktop software, many of them free. But many are thin on features and designed with Americans in mind, so choose carefully. Before settling on one, check which software your financial institutions support: if you can’t download and import your transactions, move on.
The crunch years: Where the money goes »
If you manage every other aspect of your life from your mobile device, then make sure the product works with that, too. So only try products that have been consistently updated over several years, because discontinuance is a big risk with personal finance applications. Microsoft killed its relatively popular Money product, for instance, and a similar fate befell the web service Wesabe…

Envy as economic policy.