Many people run into a problem when they try to work within a budget; they don't know where their money goes.
I confess, I keep a running total in my head of how much money is in my bank account. My coworkers call me Pam 2.0 and seem to think I'm more machine than human. I suspect that most people are not like me.
If you don't have a calculator in your head, the simple solution is to balance a checkbook using receipts. This creates a lot of paper to keep up with though.
If keeping up with receipts and balancing your checkbook at the end of the day is not going to happen. I suggest taking advantage of online banking. Almost every bank offers free online access and you can see what is available almost immediately. With the exception of actual checks written of course. (Sorry, it's the old fashioned way for those!)
It is better to use a debit card when trying to save money because you have some method of tracking spending. Cash tends to end up in some black hole leaving a lot of people wondering what happened to that 20 in their pocket.
When trying to save money, this tallying up after all purchases might make things more difficult. Before making a purchase, do a mental check to see if it's within your preset budget. Usually if you have some reservation, it's not worth buying. (or it's a major purchase and you should hold off until your reservations are taken care of.)
