While tracking the budget on paper is a viable option, I chose to make mine digital on a Google Doc. While this leaves room for personal preference and creativity, it is important to choose a method wisely. This method’s primary downside is having no formal way to track spending. Normally, it would have taken me a week to notice, which means I got the money back before it became a larger issue. By needing to consult my bank’s app more frequently, I noticed four fraudulent Chipotle charges the day after they were made. By the third week, I began to bring homemade coffee to work rather than my typical Starbucks run.įorcing myself to budget had an unexpected benefit. For example, I soon realized small food purchases are my weakness. There was no “forgetting” purchases when I had to write each down. Having to admit my purchases to myself proved to be the most difficult task. Though this is a basic concept - the less you spend the more you save - it was much clearer to see when the dollar amount fluctuated in front of my eyes. In the case I didn't need or spend it all, the more I saved. If I only allocate 30% of my paycheck to wants, there is no possibility of overspending, ensuring I always have enough to cover my needs. I'm quite new to accounting and Mint.The method warns against this. Thanks for any help and alleviating my confusion, and I'm happy to clarify. If #2 counts as an investment, do I categorize #2 as a transfer since its just moving accounts? I'm confused how to treat this.However, now I don't have an accurate view of my cash flow. So I changed it to a "transfer" so that it doesn't increase my perceived spending for the month. #5 adds $300 to my expenses, even though its not an expense.I can see my balance for all my asset accounts at a given time, but i can't, for example - see how much stock I gained from my employer in my Morgan Stanley account for a month. How do I track my total compensation (paycheck AND stock) for the month if it doesn't show up in transactions? I find when I just look at my Net Worth trend for one month, I don't get the granularity that I'm looking for. While my Morgan Stanley account reflects my stock balance, I don't see any transactions for my incoming stock compensation in Transactions > Investments. Should #2 be categorized as "Income" or "Investments" ? It's not yet invested, but in an intermediate vanguard account.So Mint classified it as Income, but still knows its an Investment somehow. Is this correct, or should I change it to "Investment" ? However, when I got to Transactions > Investments, #1 is listed there still. Why does #1 get classified as "Income" automatically by Mint.I buy mutual funds in vanguard with the $300 in the vanguard money market brokerage account from #2.I buy $300 worth of mutual funds in Vanguard using money from my checking account.
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