Are you looking to get a grip on your personal finances? If so, then a journal may be the answer you’ve been looking for. A personal financial journal is an invaluable tool to help you stay organized, track your spending, and ultimately, get a better handle on your finances.

When you have a journal for your finances you’ll be able to record your spending habits, identify areas of improvement, and create a budget that works for you. It’s the perfect way to gain control of your finances to learn more about what ultimately will be your financial decisions.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve got a few years of financial experience under your belt, using a journal can help you stay on track. Learn how to get started with a personal financial journal and become an expert at managing your money.

What is a personal financial journal?

A journal is quite simple, it is a notebook or digital notebook you use to write down whatever you want. If you use it for your personal finance you can track your spending, track your income and expenses, create a budget, and set saving goals. The best part of having this option is that you can customize it to what works for you and just keep what matters to you.

The point of doing it as a journal is that as you begin to track your spending and categorize your income and expenses, you’ll be able to identify areas of improvement and make the necessary changes to achieve your goals. Journaling does not have rules and having a financial journal does either, the goal here is to help you understand what you are doing with your money and see if you are happy with the decisions you are making.

Benefits of a personal financial journal

Helps you stay organized

You will be able to have all your financial decisions in one place. Where do you spend, when you saved, and when you invested. It will help you stay on top of everything and not get surprised at the end of the month that you have no money in your bank account and have no idea where it went.

I like the routine to check constantly how my spending is going, I do it more now that I am living on my own with my partner. When you start having your own money it can be difficult to understand budgeting or saving but with a start tracker, you can at least avoid uncertainty.

Gives you a sense of achievement

I love seeing all the progress I made during the month to achieve my goals. I am a saving person, I usually do not take risks and save a lot of money before a big purchase and it is amazing seeing all the progress I make and being closer to my goal.

This is for anything if you want to spend less money on coffee or just wanted to order less take out it feels great to look back and see everything you accomplish. You get to have the benefits of journaling and also have good financial control of your money.

Helps you stay accountable

You will not lie to yourself, right? 🙂 But really, you do not get to trick yourself into that you just do not know what is happening, start blaming the economy and in reality, you just spend a little too much on books this month.

You do not have to be unkind to yourself but you get a chance to see what is going on and what changes need to happen, what you do not enjoy, and what will help you stay on track for your future goals.

You will have a record of everything

I am someone who does not trust banks most of the time and I am always scared one day I will check my account and there is no money left. This is exactly why I always track everything, if something happens they can not gaslight me.

It may be paranoic but especially if you have debt and doing an extra effort to get rid of it, you will find how important it is to know where your money is going, what is left, and how you are going to continue working to improve your financial situation.

How to get started with a financial journal

There are many ways to get started with a financial journal. You can keep a paper journal or a digital one. It really depends on what you need and if you like or not carrying around a notebook with you. This does not mean you have to use it every day all the time but it is best to keep it handy to track your spending as soon as possible.

Essentially, the key is to find a method that works best for you. One of the best ways to get started with a financial journal is to simply pick up a journal and start writing! Now, don’t worry if you’re not sure where to start. You can use templates or journal prompts to get you started and see what you need.

Financial journal prompts that could help you get started

1. What is your ideal budget?
2. What are the steps you need to take to achieve financial goals?
3. What are the most effective ways to reduce your spending?
4. What are the biggest financial mistakes you have ever made?
5. How do you define financial success?
6. What is your long-term financial plan?
7. How have your spending habits changed over the years?
8. How has your financial situation changed since you started working?
9. What are the biggest financial challenges you face?
10. What are your values when it comes to money?
11. What are the pros and cons of saving vs. investing?
12. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned about money?
13. What does it mean to be financially independent to you?
14. What are the most important things to consider when making an investment?
15. How do you prioritize your spending?
16. What are the biggest financial risks you’ve taken?
17. How do you plan to maximize your income?
18. How do you maintain a healthy relationship with money?
19. How do you stay motivated to save?
20. What strategies do you use to stay on top of your finances?

The importance of tracking your spending

Tracking your spending is important and necessary, even when you have too much money (is that a thing?) you need to understand what you are doing with your money and if you are happy with that. The first reason is that it enables you to identify areas of improvement in your finances. This will allow you to make changes and get a better handle on your money.

Another reason why it’s important to track your spending is that it will help you create a budget that works for you. You will be able to see how much money you will spend on certain things and how you will use it, it is not to restrict yourself but to help you make smarter decisions.

Tracking your spending will help you determine how much money you should be putting into your account. If you have long-term goals this is not optional, you need to understand what steps you need to take to achieve those goals and what changes need to be done.

Developing a budget with your journal

There’s no better way to get started with a financial journal than to develop a budget. A budget outlines your spending habits and helps to have a better notion of what you can or can not spend your money on.

When you develop a budget, you’ll be able to see where you spend the most money and where you can make adjustments in order to save more money. For this in particular you can create your own budget or use a template to help you have everything in one place.

The budget you create needs to be easy to use and something you are fine using every day. It can be used weekly but it is easier to forget where you spend your money if you did not save the receipt or just bought something on the street.

Setting financial goals

Journaling is great for setting all types of goals, especially financial ones. When you set financial goals, you’ll be able to see where you are in relation to your financial expectations. You will be able to set everything from the first dollar to when you are going to make the next move.

I like to set saving goals, as well as income goals with my business. This is up to you and the point of the journal is to have everything in one place so it is easier to make smart decisions. You can achieve whatever you want when you have clear steps to take.

A journal is a great way to help you stay organized, gain a better understanding of your finances, identify areas of improvement, and set financial goals. With the help of a personal financial journal, you’ll be able to track, analyze and make the important changes to achieve everything you want financially and help you gain control of your finances.

Share it for later!