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Home » Business And Finance Articles » Keeping Track Of Credit Card Spending

Keeping Track Of Credit Card Spending

Credit card spending can be hard to keep track off if you are not disciplined, but it is important to monitor your spending in order to stop yourself getting into huge debt. If you are having trouble keeping tracking of what you spend on your credit cards, then here are some useful tips to help you control your spending.

Take stock and stop spending

Before you do anything, you should stop spending on your credit card and look at the situation you are currently in. Whether you have virtually no balance or a large debt, it is important to see exactly how much you have spent. This is the first step to managing your spending.

Make notes on your spending

Once you know what the situation is, start using your credit card as you normally do and monitor your spending. Take notes every time you spend money on your credit card, and look at how much you spend and what you spend it on. By dividing what you spend into categories you can see the areas that you are spending the most money, and where you can cut back on your spending.

Transfer balances

If you have a number of credit cards, then transfer the balances onto the lowest interest cards if possible. This will reduce the amount that you are paying in interest on your balances.

Get rid of cards

Once you have paid off some of your balances, then you can get rid of some of the cards that you have. You should make sure that you have only one or two credit cards, as this will help you to more easily keep track of spending.

Create a budget

Create a budget for yourself that you can stick to. If you look at how much you earn each month, and the subtract all the essential bills and spending from that, you will see how much money you have left to spend on extra things. Make sure that you stick to this budget, as it will help you to spend wisely and not get into debt.

Bank online

Banking online can really help you to keep track of your credit card spending. You can easily check your balance at any time of the day or night, and can instantly see what you have spent daily. Also, you can transfer your bank statements into an accounts program to better help you manage your money.

Credit cards for emergencies

Although spending on credit cards is a fact of life for most people, you should try and keep credit card spending to a minimum, and keep the cards handy for emergency situations. Also, try and save some money each month, as this will reduce the need for credit cards. Credit cards are a very useful financial tool, and if you monitor your spending properly then you will get the most out of your credit cards.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How To Double Your Business in 2006, Part II

In part one of this article, we talked about the importance of database management in the success of your business. If you haven't already started your database, it is absolutely critical that you go back to part one of this article and get started on your database before moving on to part II. This essential business strategy is the foundation for your goal of doubling your business in 2006.

Now that you have your database underway, it's time for me to reveal five more strategies that I used to double my business in 2004 and more than double my business in 2005. Let's get started.

Multiple sources of business

Part one of this article ended with one of the most difficult questions that every business faces: Where will you get the prospects to start building your database?

Depending on your business, it should not be a difficult task to brainstorm 10 different ways in which you could come into contact with potential prospects. No matter what your business is, here are a few sources for prospects to get the gears in your brain going: Friends and relatives, hobbies, church, internet or website promotion, writing articles for the newspaper or local newsletters, aligning with business partners who could refer their clients to you, door to door, purchasing lists, direct mail, leads groups, volunteering, and referrals from past clients.

Some of these methods may not be your cup of tea, but there should at least be a few that seem like something you can get your arms around.

One of the critical mistakes a failing business makes is to rely on only one source of business for generating prospects. I made this mistake early in my career by focusing completely on the internet. The problem was that if the internet didn't produce a good crop of prospects one month, I would go through the inevitable up and down roller-coaster ride that many business people experience.

The secret to an ever-growing and consistent buseness is to choose four or five sources of business that can consistently, month in and month out, funnel quality prospects in your direction.

Why four or five you ask? The reason is that if you diversify into several sources, if one is not productive one month, the others will still provide you with quality, fresh prospects. Instead of the up and down roller-coaster, you will instead be on a steady upward sales trend that will continue to grow over time.

So now that you are producing quality prospects, what do you do with them? That goes into the next strategy:

Consistent follow up

I operate under the philosophy of "never give up on a prospect." I have systems in place to consistently and continuously follow up with prospects, clients, and business partners literally forever. Most of these systems are on auto-pilot and actually take very little of my personal attention on a day-to-day basis.

If you start operating with this follow-up philosophy in mind, and you are continuously cramming your sales funnel full of quality prospects, eventually they will start coming out the other end at a faster and faster rate. Here is an example of a simple follow up system that you could use for your prospects:

Once per month: informational email (article, ezine)
Every two months: email hello (conversational, "How are you doing and can I help you?")
Phone call every 3 months
Snail mail newletter every 3 months (alternate with phone call)

Using this approach, you are hitting the prospect 26 times per year with different forms of media on a consistent basis. It is important that you use email, regular mail, phone, and any other method you can think of to stay in touch as not all people respond to the same types of contact. It is not a miracle that when it comes time to buy, they will think of you first.

And what makes this all possible? Your bullet-proof database system, of course.

Hard work

There is no substitute for this basic strategy. Work hard and you will see results. If you find it difficult to work a long day, try getting to work just a half hour earlier every day, and leaving a half hour later. That will add 5 hours to your week which you can use to generate more business.

Ask for Referrals

Most of your clients, if you are doing an outstanding job, would gladly refer a friend, family member, or co-worker to you, but many times they do not even think of it unless you mention it. Don't be shy after you have done a good job for a client, to directly ask them for a referral, you deserve it.

Be specific and ask for a referral from a specific group within your client's circle of influence. For example, ask them if they have a co-worker who could use your services, or ask for a referral of a friend from their church if you know they are active in church. This helps your client focus in on a manageable segment of their circle of influence so they can more easily think of a particular person who could use your service.

Be Ethical

This last business building strategy seems obvious, but it has to be mentioned. You absolutely must do business in an ethical, honest manner, with the best interests of your client in mind at all times.

Run your business with a long term philosophy of repeat clients and word-of-mouth advertising in mind. If you are ethical, people sense it and will gravitate to you and trust you. With a loyal base of clients, you will eventually build a solid business that will withstand the test of time and provide you with a long term, rewarding career.

Triple Your Business in 2006?

It is my sincere desire that these strategies will help you achieve the kind of success I have had the past two years. My personal goal is to no less than triple my business in 2006, and after two years of seeing these systems develop, this goal seems very attainable. If you would like one-on-one coaching on more specific strategies I have used, please consider me a resource and feel free to contact me. Good luck in 2006!