How closely do you keep an eye on your finances?

Yes, I certainly keep a close control on all my incomes and expenditures. With commodity prices rising, I have to keep control on all my expenses, to make sure that it would not exceed my income. I do not want to have huge balances on my credit card accounts either. Spread sheets is a way to manage the accounts on a dat to day basis.

pretty close for me. And right now i try to do all my transaction on my debit card. It's easy to track down all my spending, and i got my paycheck direct deposit too, so money in and money out is there, and I can check it anytime i want too online. The good thing also, my bank which is Bank of America, round up every transaction, and put the difference in my savings account. So, it feels like putting change in my jar, but this time nobody can get their hands on it..LOL

i am one of those people you are talking about. i have an excel spreadsheet that i keep an account of my expenditure and expected income. this way, i know exactly how much i have to spend. i will also keep on top of my credit card expenditures. i always make sure that i have the money in my bank account before charging to my credit card. i don't want to end up paying the exorbitant interests and charges.

hi UK Shree I have to watch my finances very very' closely as Ihave little spending money each month so need to have money to last before the end of the month. what I make here goes to pay my internet bill.

Yes I keep a close eye on our money. We also have a spread sheet where we enter all the bills and all of the income. We also record all of the money we send to our savins accounts and investments. Then what ever money is left over is divided up three ways, some goes to my husband for spending money, some goes to me for spending money and the rest goes to the family for spending money to do things together through out the month. The only money I don't want is my husband's spending money because that is his to do as he likes with.

I have to admit when I had more disposable money I wdid not keep very good track of it. It wasn't that I spent so much on myself because my tastes are really simple but I would give away money all the time, paying other people's bills, etc. I did eat out a lot which can be expensive. Now that I don't gte that much money I have to be more careful. I only wish I had done that years ago and saved for rainy days like today.

I watch my money VERY carefully! I'm fanatical about paying bills the moment the come in the mail and I want to know every penny I have and where the money goes. When I was married I tried to handle the bills but my husband kept dipping into the ATM and it was a mess so he took them over. I got so sick of the electric company coming to the house to turn off the power and me pleading with them just one more day--we had the money usually but my husband believed in keeping the money till the last minute. Now I pay everything immediately. I use a charge card because of the rewards but each time I charge something I write it in red in my check book and treat it as a debit. When the bill comes I add the charges back in as a deposit then I write the check. I always know exactly what I have available.

I have been good with my finances ever since I was young. I always would save money any way that I could. I feel guilty if I spend too much money on something. I'm always looking for a good sale.

We watch every penny and we do keep an eye on our finances life has changed so much over the last two years ,we have cut down.When we both worked I wasted so much money it makes me dizzy to think how much we spent on nothing,meals out,new clothes but life has changed and our priorities have changed.Pay the mortgage ,buy food,pay bills and anything after that is a bonus.

Hi UK_Shree, I dont use spreadsheets or whatever to keep track of my finance, but I do consider myself as good in handling money. I think the fact that I dont have credit cards is a great plus. The easiest way to keep track on my finance is to keep track on how long a $50 last (I withdraw cash, always $50). I try to use cash for every purchase, and I dont have online banking, so keeping track is rather easy.

Hi UK Shree, I've always been completely on top of my finances and wouldn't trust them to anyone else. When I worked full time in the UK I saved with a purpose and planned everything so that the only money I borrowed was on the mortgage which I took for a short term to reduce paying the bank extra interest. Doing that I was able to sell my house there and buy a place here for cash with equity. Things are tight now so I stick to my frugal ways but it frustrates me not to be in the position to build my savings back up. Living in a less materialistic country tends not to make you want to acquire things in the same way and my priorities end up being bills, foods and clothes for my son.

Yes, I am actually keeping an eye on my finances especially during these times of financial crisis. It would be such a nice way for all of us to be conscious enough with regards to our expenses in life. We should not be wasting money and other financial resources so that it will not come to a particular point that we will be having problems dealing with it. I actually budget the amount of money that I will have to spend for a particular day so that I still have something to last for the next pay day.

I do watch my finances carefully. I want to know how much I spend a month, which bills being settled and which will be carry out to next month and how much money will be deposited into my fund. I have three funds; family fund, personal fund and emergency fund. Family fund and emergency fund will never be touch unless there's an occasion for it. Personal fund is for petrol cost and pocket money.

Hi UK_Shree.. Our finances should be controlled even if we have the job to sustain our caprices to spend. I am a thrift-spender. I only buy things that I badly need. My money are already budgeted on things that I have prioritize like household utilities, education, some for entertainment, bank savings, and for my daily petty expenses. I accept the challenge to save my money and see how much will I be able to come up in December. It nice to spend but hard to work for our money..

Pretty darn close these days.

I have always had to watch my finances closely. I know exactly how much i have to spend every month. When u don't work anylore u have to be careful.

I am very attentive to my finances. I bank online and most of the transactions are in real time. I keep a check on it often because I try to stay with a budget.