Every Dime, Every Dollar

As of this morning, I have embarked on a brand new way of managing money. New for me, anyway.

Instead of my usual checkbook balancing (to the penny), followed by a regular screening of my bank account online (you'd never believe how many incorrect fees, wrong charges, and double check deposits I've found), I've gone to the old-school method of detailing every purchase in a financial log book that shows me each day of the month and every spending category all in one glance.

This is scary, even for me.

While I have drastically improved my financial bottom line over the years by voraciously reading personal finance books, meeting with financial advisers, keeping meticulous financial paperwork, and making better life choices, I'm still not perfect. I still have money triggers -- primarily boredom -- and if I'm not careful, I can still blow a $20 bill on something I didn't plan to buy.

Good for me (and you) that financial abundance is not about perfection, but about accountability. So tracking where every dime and dollar I spend is less about being fiscally anal and more about getting a clear and immediate picture of how much more abundance I might have if I were to make different financial choices. How much you bring home is not nearly as important as what you do with what you bring home and that's the case at every income level.

For example, I love reading books. I make a daily trip to the Borders bookstore next door to my office. More days than not, I walk out book-free. If I see something that interests me, I'll check the book out of my local library. For special books that I know I'll read again, and I'll refer to often, I choose to buy them. I feel this is a prudent choice because I'm a messy reader and there aren't many books on my shelves that don't have dog-eared pages, underlined sentences, highlighted paragraphs, and notes in the margins.

However, even when I choose to buy books (which I know the more frugal-minded would say is a waste of money), I do so with a clear plan in mind. Pay the absolute least possible and still get what I want to buy. Today, with the help of a 25% off coupon that I received by e-mail from Borders (I get them weekly even though I rarely use them), coupled with a special Borders $5.00 reward, I helped myself to two books and a small raspberry mocha for the lovely price of $11.04.

I saved $17.50 that I can now use for something else I value in the short-term or save for a different purchase in the future. Mind you, that still doesn't compare to the woman I heard on the radio recently who said she regularly goes to her local grocery store on double-coupon day and buys $185 worth of groceries, only to pay $3.25 after all of the coupons and double savings have registered. Even better, she uses the groceries for a local food pantry. Without a doubt, spreading the abundance is the supreme goal.

Making the most of your money isn't terribly hard, but it does require some thought, a little time, and a clear plan. A dollar doesn't stretch very far these days and a dime does even less, but watch both and see how quickly they add up to more money than you can possibly ever imagine having at your fingertips.