It’s no surprise that you have heard of bullet journaling before. Maybe, that’s the reason you decided to give this blog post a read.
However, if you don’t know that bullet journaling is, it is basically a regular notebook with dotted lines where you are able to create your own agenda. I know right?! mind blowing.
For an agenda fanatic like myself I found this concept so cool because often times regular agendas don’t always have the space that you need to write out your week and they lack personal characteristics.
I like that I can write my grocery list, my bucket list and my monthly calendar all in one. It’s a really great concept because you get to stay on top of things without needing 5 different notebooks.
On the topic of staying on top of things. One of those things that I used my bullet journal for is managing my finances. Getting your finances strengthened out is probably one fo the most challenging things you have to learn to do as an adult.
Trust me, at 24 I’m still figuring it out. And something that I have learned along the way to use was my bullet journal to help me out on that.
Here is How my bullet journal helped me manage my finances
Monthly Budget
I Like to section off bills that I have to pay at the beginning of the month. I write down all of my expenses that are needs. For Instance, Rent gets paid at the beginning of the month. I enjoy having the space needed so that I can dedicate a whole page to those monthly bills instead of trying to cram too many things in the little squares of my weekly or monthly space.
This is really great if you want to start seeing how much money you use on necessities and if you can try to cut that back.
Savings goal
I find it really difficult to save money if you don’t have a clear direction of it. For the upcoming year I have a few goals that require a bit of money which is why having this be present is very important.
I keep that goal present constantly so that I know how much money I already have saved up and if I am meeting my goal or not.
Spending
By far one of THE most helpful pages if not one of the most important pages that I find has helped me in my bullet journal is this one My Spending Tracker.
For this page I like to write out the everysingle expense that I have for the month. If I’m putting gas in my car or I decide to buy a stick a gum.
When I was in my last semester of college I decided to take a class on personal finances so that I can try to educate myself on ways to make more money and also be financially responsible with the income I already had coming in.
One of the lessons that really stuck was this one knowing how much your are spending is a great place to start so that you know where you can cut back on.
After keeping track for three months I found that I was spending way too much money on Target! Seriously, I knew this was happening but I was a bit of on denial because I LOVE Target too much for my own good. Which is why I like to limit how often I go to Target because I come out with 20 things that weren’t on my shopping list.
Really knowing where you are over spending and seeing it written down in paper lets your realize where you are over spending and where you can use that money for other things.
Tip: I also find that adding a need or a want section. After I go back and write down on the side if the purchase for that day was a need like gas, groceries, and essentials or if it’s a want something that I saw and bought out of impulsiveness.
Let me know in the comments below if you follow any of these tips already or if you bullet journal.
Also, check out my last bullet journal posts for more bullet journal inspiration
