Income and Expenses in a Budget Journal
For over a century, people have been tracking their expenses. For a long time, this was done in a budget journal. You might recall seeing one at your grandmother’s or mother’s home, where every income source and expense was carefully written down. This practice allowed people to occasionally make luxury purchases, which were less common in those days.
The concept of a budget journal is not unique to Western cultures. In 1904, it was introduced in Japan as Kakeibo, a system developed by Japan's first female journalist, Hani Motoko. She designed it to help housewives manage household finances effectively.
Budget Journals → Excel
Over the years, the traditional budget journal evolved alongside technology. Computers made it possible for people to manage their finances digitally. Excel became a popular tool, enabling people to not only track their income and expenses but also categorize them. This was a significant step forward, as Excel offered more detailed insights than the handwritten budget journal. However, categorizing every expense in Excel remained a time-consuming task.
Excel → Grassfeld
Today, smarter free apps like Grassfeld make tracking expenses easier. Grassfeld automatically categorizes your transactions, eliminating the need to manually assign each expense to a category. At a glance, you can see exactly how much you are spending each month on groceries, clothing, or entertainment. Managing your finances has never been easier!
Why Track Your Expenses?
Tracking your expenses is essential for gaining a clear understanding of your financial situation, enabling better decision-making. By understanding exactly where your money goes, you can reduce unnecessary spending. This prevents debt, and accelerates the achievement of financial goals. Expense tracking also enhances financial awareness and control, giving you a stronger grip on your money.
How Grassfeld Makes Tracking Easy
Grassfeld is a free app for tracking expenses. Here is how it works:
- Download and Create an Account: After downloading the Grassfeld app, create an account and link your bank account.
- Predefined and Custom Categories: While most categories are pre-set, you can add your custom main and subcategories to suit your needs.
- Transaction Overview: View all your income and expenses under the "Transactions" tab, with most transactions already categorized. For uncategorized transactions, you can manually assign a category.
- Financial Overview: The "Statistics" tab offers a detailed overview of your income and expenses. At any time, see how much you have spent in each category.
- Weekly Reports: Each week you will receive a report summarizing total expenses, average daily spending, and top spending categories.
Download Grassfeld and Start Tracking Expenses
Grassfeld is a user-friendly, free app for tracking expenses. You can access your financial situation anytime, anywhere. In addition to tracking income and expenses, you can set savings goals and budgets, helping you manage every aspect of your personal finances. Download Grassfeld now from your app store and experience the convenience for yourself!
