How to work out what you actually spent this month
Adding up what left your accounts gets you close. Four corrections get you the rest of the way.
Published
September, so farExample figures
| Left your accounts | 4,628.00 |
|---|---|
| − Credit card bill | 1,240.00 |
| − Moved to savings | 900.00 |
| − Friend paid you back | 64.50 |
| Spent so far | $2,423.50 |
1. List every account money leaves from
Usually that's your checking account and each credit card. Include a savings account only if you pay for things straight out of it.
2. Add up everything that left them this month
Take every debit from checking and every charge on each card, from the 1st of the month to today. That's your starting number. It's too high, and the next steps fix that.
3. Take out money you only moved
Paying your card bill, moving money to savings and moving money between your own accounts aren't spending. The money is still yours, or it pays for purchases you've already counted. Why the card bill doesn't count.
4. Take off money you got back
Refunds count against spending. So does a friend paying you back their share of a bill you covered.
5. Mark big one-offs
A couch, a flight or a car repair is real spending, so keep it in the total. Mark it, though, so you can tell whether this month was higher because of one purchase or because everyday spending went up.
6. Check that it adds up
Group what's left into categories like rent, groceries and eating out. The categories should add up exactly to your total, and every line should match a transaction at your bank. If they don't, something was counted twice or missed.
Why "income minus what's left" doesn't work
Subtracting your end-of-month balance from your pay looks quicker, but it ignores what's still owed on your cards, counts savings transfers as spending, and tells you nothing about where the money went.
Try it
Spent So Far does these steps for you from your bank and card accounts, and shows every line so you can check it. Try it with sample data, or read how it works.