It's important to closely monitor your bank accounts on a daily basis. Log into your accounts everyday and see what's going on. We're quickly approaching a cashless society and if you're like me you use very little cash. When we're not spending cash, it doesn't feel real in a sense. Forking over the cash to buy something makes you think twice, but swiping your debit/credit card doesn't really feel the same to me. Does it to you?

So back to my main point. Log into your bank accounts on a daily basis and see where your money is going. By doing this, it might feel more real to you that lots of money may be going out.

Like I've said before... it's crucial to know where every penny spent goes.

It's important to track every penny that leaves your possession. To many, this may sound crazy. How can I possibly track every penny I spend? My question to you is: How can you not? You work hard for your money (I'm assuming), so how can you not know where you spend your hard earned money? I hear from people all the time, "I seem to deplete all my extra money at the end of the month." Now, emergencies and unexpected purchases pop up all the time, but it's important to manage these expenses properly by saving for these expenses. By saving extra money at the end of the month, you'll have money to pay for these unexpected expenses and won't need to rely on a credit card.

I think many people are afraid to really see where their money is going. It's much easier if you just turn a blind eye to it! But you can't!

Here's how I track my expenditures:

• I have automatic bill pay setup through my bank. I know what these expenses will be each month (or roughly, things like electricity fluctuate).
  
• I make a conscious effort to limit my spending when going to department or grocery stores. I set a budget before I even walk into the store and try not to go over this amount.
• I log into my bank account everyday and track my spending. I reconcile each transaction. Bank of America makes it easy with online tools to set budgets and track expenses. See my previous post here.
• I make sure I'm not going over my set budget for each category. If I am, I adjust accordingly in other categories.
  

Plug the holes in your checking account today. Make a conscious effort to understand where every penny you spend is going.

I have been very interested in personal finance over the past few years and I'm always looking for ways to manage my family's budget. I have developed several scripted tools over the years and they have worked out ok, but I have to say I'm very impressed with Bank of America's new portfolio tools. I know, BOA... cringe... I have been using these tools for several weeks now and I am very impressed with the ability to effortlessly track my net worth. BOA makes it very easy to add and track accounts.