I don't know which one to choose among the many household account books available...
Do you have such an experience?
In this article, I will show you how to choose a household account book that suits your needs.
As I write this article, I am
Housekeeping enthusiast
- I've tried more than 20 types of handwritten household accounts.
- 6 different Excel household account book templates available for free on our blog (in Japanese)
- App household account book is being used mainly to keep track of assets.
Types of household account books and their characteristics
- Handwritten household account book
- Excel household account book
- Household account book application (household account book software)
Handwritten household account book
Available Around $10.
It takes a lot of time and effort to keep receipts, enter items and amounts manually, and tally them using a calculator, etc.
It's a lot of work to write by hand, but it also has the advantage of allowing you to look back and organize your mind.
It is also possible to create your own handwritten household account book that suits your lifestyle.
It's easy to start, and by recording your finances in a household account book, you can see how you spend your money on a daily basis.
It's easy to discover waste, and I recommend it to anyone who really wants to improve their finances.
Excel Family Budget Template
If you search for "Excel household account book template download," you can download a template for free from most sites.
Many of the templates are similar to those for handwritten household accounts, but the appeal is that the totaling is automatic and comparisons with the previous month can be easily made in graphs.
It is also possible to create your own, but some knowledge of Excel is required.
In terms of ease of use, it is somewhere between a handwritten household account book and an app-based household account book.
It's also good that you can create your own arrangement and analyze your finances well.
Recommended for those who want to analyze their finances using numbers and graphs
Household budgeting applications (household budgeting software)
You can download software on your computer, but these days, household account bookkeeping apps are becoming the norm for managing your finances on your smartphone.
Many of them are free, while others charge less than $10 a month.
The first step is to register your bank and credit cards, but once you do, some apps will automatically create a household budget for most of your credit card payments.
Some apps use graphs to make it easy to read even on a smartphone.
The disadvantage is that since the household budget is created automatically, it is easy to neglect looking back.
It takes some time to register at the beginning, but once it is structured, it is easy to use.
If you register with your bank, you can easily keep track of your assets.
If you already have a structured household budget and just need to keep track of your money flow, I definitely recommend the app
When used in conjunction with a multiplier
If that's the case, why not try using a crossover?
App-based household budgeting✕ Handwritten household budgeting
Whenever you make a purchase with cash, you can record it in your handwritten household account book and enter it into the app at the end of the month.
Try to record just the monthly totals in the handwritten household account.
Once you get used to it, you can review items that are overused and record your goals and impressions for the month.
Excel account book✕ Handwritten account book
Use the handwritten account book as a memo and fill in the Excel account book later.
Create an Excel household account book format and print it out to use as a handwritten household account book.
Excel household budget✕ App household budget
Transcribe the contents of the app records into Excel.
Analysis is done in Excel.
Summary
Even if you have experienced setbacks in the past, choosing a household account book that suits your needs will make it easier to continue.
The important things to keep track of your finances are
- First, continue
- Understand the flow of money
- Analyze (review how you spend your money)
- Make improvements
If you want to review how you spend your money, use a household account book or multiplier that suits your needs and review your current money flow carefully.
