Part 2 of our personal finance series focuses on building a spending - or budget - tracker. We discuss three options that we have liked over the years: a pen-and-paper tracker system, a budget tracking app, and a detailed spreadsheet (linked as 2 Google Docs, below). Tracking our spending has helped us see where we spend way too often and way too much (hello, Target!). And it has reminded us to cancel subscriptions--those payments of $5-$20 often fly under the radar, but they really add up over time. And our spending trackers have helped us readjust our spending, helping us pay down our debt more quickly. Do you have tips or tools that help you track your spending? Let us know at takingsocialstock@gmail.com.

Budgeting/spending app: Mint: https://mint.intuit.com/

Detailed Budget Doc: Budget Planner: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HjDCOvkhFxchqAr2bjLZScaHWApenlzq/view?usp=sharing

Make a copy of this template and adapt it to meet your goals and needs. Note: We recommend downloading this doc into an Excel file to ensure all formulas work properly.

Basic Budget Google Doc: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xfysm_W8I4dmVjSqtVcKV1Gz0vDKZunS/view?usp=sharing

Make a copy of this template and adapt it to meet your goals and needs. Note: We recommend downloading this doc into an Excel file to ensure all formulas work properly.

Music Provided by:

Intro - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Tumbling_Dishes_Like_Old-Mans_Wishes/Green_Lights Outro - https://audionautix.com/