We’ve covered spending logs before in this space. While I believe a spending log has an out and out role in helping to reduce spending by people needing to actually write down what they spend and for what, I think its greatest contribution to frugality is figuring out what you’re spending your money on and giving the spender the opportunity to make changes. In order to use this tool for this purpose, you must review your spending at least periodically and look for trends.

For example, I know some of my greatest expenditures are on gas and eating out. I can tell you I spend more money at Costco than I do at Longs, and I tend to spend a lot more on the weekends (when I’m usually not working) than during the week (when I am). I can tell you that I spend a lot at Tesoro although it’s all on gas and a little at 76 which is usually a stop for a soda refill.

I can identify some of my brand loyalties (like Diet Pepsi and Jack in the Box) and some places where I go almost never (Ann Taylor, twice a year, for gift cards for my friend). But perhaps most importantly, I can find places where I think I can cut, or rather, leaks that I think I can plug.

Where does your wallet leak?

5 Responses to “Ask the Readers: Where Does Your Wallet Leak?”

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  5. [...] Cents ask their readers: Where Does Your Wallet Leak? A few of these responses sounded [...]

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