If you're not taking control of your money, chances are you have no clue where it's all going.
Stop me if you've ever said one of these:
- How did my account balance get so low?
- It doesn't feel like I bought so much stuff this month.
- Why does my credit card bill keep getting higher?
The first step to properly managing your money is to know exactly where it's all going.
Thankfully, when you bank online and use an account aggregator like Yodlee's MoneyCenter, it's beyond easy to see where your money is being spent.
How to Categorize Your Spending in Yodlee
After you've logged in to Yodlee, click on the "Transactions" link under "Yodlee PersonalFinance." This will bring up a list of your transactions, starting with the most recent, from all of your linked accounts.
Everything should look familiar here – your trip to the supermarket, your phone bill, etc.
To get started cleaning up your transactions, click on the drop-down menu next to the text "Select Category." Choose "Uncategorized" and click the "Show" button.
This will bring up all of the transactions that Yodlee doesn't recognize. If you write a bunch of checks, these will show up here, as well as a few other expenses.
To categorize a transaction, click on the "Uncategorized" link next to the description and choose the correct location for it. Expenses will be listed with a red font and a minus sign; income will be normal black text.
Do this for all of your uncategorized expenses. If you have a few transactions where you can't remember what it was, don't worry. Take your best guess or mark it as "other expenses."
After you've finished with your uncategorized expenses, choose "All Categories" from the "Select Category" menu and click show. You should be presented with all your transactions.
Where's My Money Going?
Click on the "Spending Reports" tab and check out your expense analysis chart. You'll want to make sure it's set to show you at least 3 (or 6, or 12) months of expenses.
So, what do you think? Are you surprised at where your money is going? Or does this look about right?
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