“Where did all my money go this month?”
How often have you asked yourself that question? I know I have a few times because it seems like the paycheck is not lasting as long as it used to. More importantly, what have you done to answer that question in the past? Did you look at your utility bill to see if it went up from the previous month, or look at all the new clothes in your closet to see what you have spent money on?
As an excellent way to organize my spending, I love a feature that is offered for free with my Discover Card, it is called “Spend Analyzer“. This tool is very straightforward and shows your spending in the past month, 3 months, etc., all the way back to 24 months. Here is how I have used it:
Go to the website and look at the demo: http://discovercard.com/spendanalyzer/demo/ (you will need Flash installed to see the demo)
- You can immediately see that this demo is very intuitive letting you choose your time range on the top and then it has a variety of charts below. On the left is a pie chart that shows the different “categories” where you spent money in that time frame. Hover over a category or part of the pie chart to see the dollar amount, percent of total spending, and number of transactions for that category in that time frame.
- To the right is a bar chart that shows the total monthly spending and compares it side-by-side to past monthly totals and a dotted line for average spending. Hovering over this chart will also show you the total amount you spent in that month, largest transaction, average transaction, and number of transactions. It also lets you know the category where you spend the largest amount of money and category you spent in most frequently.
- At the bottom of the screen shows all your transactions. As you click on categories as part of the pie chart, you can see the transaction list change to show the transactions that made up that pie piece. You can also use the category filter and the time range filter together to see how your spending totals up in the past (for example: how much have I spent on gasoline in the past 12 months).
Just from this brief write-up, I am sure it is pretty clear how useful a tool is like this. Knowing where you money is going is a key factor in controlling your spending and organizing your financial situation. Keep in mind that this same process can be used for your normal checking account as well. Most online banks have category information where you can use something like Excel to look at which categories you are spending money in the most and that can help you to know where all your money is going, or feel free to get a Discover Card and use their Spend Analyzer on your own account.
Have a story of triumph or horror about your financial situation and want to share how you got out of it or look for other people’s suggestions? Click the “About” link above and contact me or leave a comment. I will post your story anonymously and help you get feedback to work through any money problems you are having.
