Monthly review

So, it's a new month, which means it is time for me to look at where all my money is going and adjust my spending, and expectations, accordingly. I figure I'll go down the list from biggest to smallest expenditures, and as always I'll not be giving you exact figures, but I will give you percents to give you an idea of what I'm doing. Mind you, all of these numbers are just on money spent, nothing about my savings.
So first, I went through all my transactions for the last month in Mint and verified that they were all correct and accurately categorized. Then I clicked on my trending tab and Viola! All the information I need.
At the top of the list, as expected, is housing. Rent. Hasn't changed, can't be changed, nothing big there, except it's my largest overall expenditure almost every month, totaling almost 29% of my money spent in January! This is one big reason I'm really looking forward to buying a house, spending that much money to get nothing in return is just crazy. I will admit, that since I'm renting from my parents and basically paying the mortgage on their second house is on positive thing in there.
Second on the list is Auto! This one is a bit higher than normal because my birthday is coming up and I had to pay my tag fees and such. But as it stands this past month this category took up 27% of my spending. I expect that without the added fee, this category will be 75% of what it is now.
My third highest category of spending is Bills and Utilities. This category was 18.1% of my total spending. That might seem high, and really it is. There are 4 things in total in this category, each taking about 25%. They are Gas, Power, Cell phones, and Television (actually, this is both internet and tv). Now, at this point in time, I can't do much of anything about these bills. I do everything I can to conserve energy at home and even keep the place cooler than my son likes, but it's winter and the heat will have to run. I'm in a contract with my current phone carrier, which will be ending really soon, and when it does I will be switching plans at the very least, or even carriers if I find a really good deal. As for television and internet, I absolutely refuse to consider changing my internet, but I may see what I can do to reduce the cost of my tv service.
A close 4th is Food and Dining at 18%! Now, I feel I did really good this past month on that one. I have been saving a ton of money shopping sales and using coupons. I'll admit, I have probably missed out on a few coupons, and I'm sure I can work harder to find more of them, but when I go to the grocery store and only pay 75% of what I would have without coupons, I feel good! Now, I did say food and dining, the food was over 80% which means I spent less than 20% (or around 3% of overall spending) on eating out at restaurants. I have had issues in the past where I would spend a lot more money than I wanted in this category, and seeing these numbers makes me feel good.
And, last but not least is entertainment. 5% of my spending in January was on video games and Netflix. I'm sure I could change my spending in this category, but it was actually larger than normal this past month as well because I paid for a full year of one service up-front, saving money in the long run. But, even if I did spend 5% of my money in this category, I wouldn't be too upset.
Of course, there's also another few percent left over of my spending which is just random stuff, like office supplies and interest charges. Overall, I think I had a successful month, and looking over these numbers makes me realize that I've already done a lot of work streamlining my spending. Even though I don't actively employ the process outlined in the You Need A Budget (The Book), I still follow the basic tenets behind it.

How do I save money?

Now, this topic could be read in a couple of different ways, so I'll try to cover savings, money you stash away for a rainy day or specific purposed. I'll cover ways to actually save money day-to-day in another topic.
So, how do you start saving? It's really hard to do when you live paycheck to paycheck. By the time you get your paycheck, almost every dime from the last one is gone. There doesn't seem to be any wiggle room, how can you save money you don't have? Well, the best way is to never have the money to begin with. Do you really think you'll notice a huge difference if you get $25 less from your paycheck? I doubt it, because I don't. So, when you get paid, set aside $25 in a savings account.
If you get your checks direct deposited, it's even easier, because all you have to do is tell your employer to deposit the $25 in one account and the rest in another, you never see or touch it. Personally, I have 4 different savings account, and I sock away $25-50 into each one of those accounts each paycheck.
The next problem is, how do you not spend the money? You have this ever-increasing balance in a checking account, and you might get the urge to spend it, but it's really easy to keep from doing that. Make sure your savings account is hard to access. Using an online account does just that. You can still get money out when you need it but it takes a few days and some planning, so you'll be less inclined to move the money around.
One great online-only bank I highly recommend is INGDirect. If you're interested, I would gladly send you a referral to them, which will net you an easy $25 just for starting an account, just drop me a line and I'll get you a link.
Please don't forget to check out the free online book linked to the right, "You Need a Budget (the book)" where you'll get even more ideas and ways to start saving money.

You Need a Budget (the book) Review

Now, I'm not personally familiar with this program, but they have a book available to read free of charge online, and it is wonderful! I read the whole thing, and it basically describes the exact process I use for managing my money. I had already put a process in place, using Quicken Online (which is unfortunately no longer available) that basically follows the principals of the book to a T. For anyone who is in need of a budget, I highly recommend you start by reading the free book.
The software associated with the book does offer a free 34 day full-featured demo. The software integrates all the best things you would want from a budgeting standpoint, including tracking your spending and savings, and planning future expenses.