(ThyBlackMan.com) These days it seems like money isn’t really money any more. We rarely handle cash, choosing instead to swipe cards or, more often, wave our phones in front of sensors. With all of these advancements in payment that make payment so easy, it’s no wonder so many people lose track of their spending so easily. It’s no wonder that it takes finding oneself mired in debt and seemingly suddenly struggling to rebuild credit to clue people into the fact that they might have spending problems.
This is why it is so important to be vigilant about how much you spend and where you spend it. The good news is that even if you haven’t ever been one to track your spending, there’s no time like the present to start changing that for the better. Here are some tips for how to do that.
Mind Your Credit Cards
There is nothing wrong with using credit cards from time to time. Building a good credit rating is important if you ever want to buy a house or even a car. It is important, though, that you make sure you get a good car with good terms and better rewards. It is also important that, when you use credit, outside of buying automobiles or homes, you make sure that you never charge more than you know (based on numbers, not hopes) you can completely pay off within three months.
As BankingSense so correctly puts it: “There are many credit cards on the market now, and at first glance their glossy brochures or web promotions make them all look roughly the same.” Click here to read the full page and learn differences between various lines of credit.
Write it Down
Those old check tracking registers seem so clunky and old fashioned, especially since nobody writes checks anymore. Even so, they were 
helpful, as is tracking where you spend your money. You don’t have to use actual pen and paper for this, there are a lot of apps that will help you log your spending. Try out a few of those to find one that works for you. Then write down everything you spend (and where you spend it) for a few months. Doing this will help you build your budget.
Building a Budget
A lot of people believe that the very first thing you should do when you want to start managing your own finances is to build a budget. We say that, before you can build a budget, you have to know what you’re already spending and where. Knowing how much you usually spend on, say, food or clothes or going out to eat, etc. will help you build a more accurate budget for yourself. The more accurate your budget, the easier it will be to stick to.
Keep in mind that building an accurate budget doesn’t necessarily mean that you can keep up all of your current spending habits. You might have to make adjustments to allow you to better manage your debt and save for your future.
When All Else Fails
If you are consistently spending more than you earn, one of the best things you can do is to go back to old fashioned spending, i.e, turn your digital money into cash. The envelope method is a fantastic way to create a situation in which you can literally only spend the cash you have on hand. It could be a fantastic way to curb your dependency on credit and help you get used to spending only what you actually have. Budgeting, it needs to be said, dovetails nicely into the envelope method for people whose spending has gotten out of control.
The point is this: there are ways to better manage your spending and to teach yourself to spend less. This is the framework by which you set that up. Next up: dealing with/managing your debt, saving for the future and investing.
Staff Writer; Calvin Noe