The key to better financial management isn’t just about spending your money wisely and being as cheap as possible. It’s also about knowing where your money goes on a daily basis. Whether you are a private individual or a business owner, tracking your expenses is one of the most important things you can do.

Back in the days, tracking expenses usually entails a lot of bookkeeping and paperwork. However, thanks to the emergence of various financial solutions, it’s now a lot easier to be up-to-date about your expenses. Here are a few that can be really useful in various situations.

Receipt Scanners

Receipts are the most important part of the transaction process. Not only do they serve as a means to get yourself a refund, but they are also proof of your expense.

If you are like many others out there, then you definitely understand how bothersome it can be to hold on to your receipts. If you’re a frequent shopper or a seller that gets dozens of transactions daily, it gets tough having to hold on to so many pieces of paper. 

One way to make sure that you are always on track of tracking your receipts is by investing in a receipt scanner. By using a receipts scanner for Mac, Windows, or other devices you can create a digital copy of your receipts. This makes it easier to keep track of your expenses. At the same time, you don’t have to worry about keeping your pockets full of tiny pieces of paper.

Bank Apps

Even banks and financial institutions are coming up with their own ways to help you keep track of your expenses. An easy way to do it is by downloading the app of the bank that you have an account with. Almost all top banks have their own apps now and they serve as foolproof ways to know how you spend.

These apps allow you to easily check the money that’s coming and going out of your account. It used to be that you had to go to the bank to get your bankbook updated for a list of your expenses.

The app won’t directly show where your money went. However, they can at least reveal when money was taken from your account. If you are doing a card transaction, you can see the business you made a transaction with.

What’s even better is that some apps allow you to limit the transactions you can make on a daily basis.

Budgeting Software

By the name itself, it’s easy to see what budgeting software is for. It’s perfect for people that tend to go over or under their budget regularly. Such apps not only help you keep track of your money better, but these also help you get a better grip on your expenses and budgeting.

Most of these apps will let you list down your income and your upcoming expenses so you can see how best to go about your budget for the next week or month. This is a great alternative to manual budgeting.

To make budgeting easier, these apps also have a database of the things that you’d usually find in a grocery. This way, you can instantly see just how much you are looking to spend on food and other household necessities the next time you go to the market. Try the best free budgeting app, MoneyPatrol, so that you can keep track of your finances and help you gain control over your spending.

Going Old School

It’s very enticing to use these solutions. However, if you aren’t up to learning new apps to use then you should consider doing your money tracking manually instead. Going old school is a lot more work than using apps but keep in mind that it’s still a tried and tested method.

When doing your budget the old-fashioned way, make sure to keep all receipts, track all of your expenses, and even write down your future expenses too. Keep all of the data in a notebook so that you have something to refer to when you need to check your budget.

One thing you should do when going manual is to double-check your computations and list every time. The downside to manual work is that it can be tough to go back to your list if you make a mistake somewhere down the road.

Keeping track of your money is the best way to know how best you can spend it. People have a habit of spending without having to check their money. This is a bad practice of course. The key to being wealthy is being smart about your money so make sure to up your money tracking habits with these apps.