Every financial journey should begin with a plan. And every plan should be written down. Why not do it in style?
Enter bullet journals. Bullet journaling is a creative, often colourful hand-drawn way to commit plans to paper, reflect on accomplishments and hold yourself accountable.
What do you do with a bullet journal?
Bullet Journals are used for many reasons, from organising calendars to planning meals and marathon training. The physicality of the journal, which most people tote with them everywhere they go, is a constant reminder of those goals.
And it is no surprise that they are useful for tracking finances too. In fact, bullet journal expense trackers, bullet journal bill trackers, and bullet journal budget trackers are exploding across the world, as a quick search of #bujo and #bulletjournal on Google, Pinterest and Instagram will show.
Many now swear by their bullet journal finance logs, crediting them for help in organising and tracking all kinds of daily, weekly, monthly and annual financial transactions and goals.
People have also found success using bullet journal budget planner to set money challenges such as spending less than £100 eating out in a month, paying down credit card debt, building an emergency fund or saving for a vacation.
Why should I start a bullet journal?
By writing down goals and actively tracking your transactions by hand you continually confront the money habits you would like to have, and those you would like to break. You learn things about your habits, good and bad, and the next blank page of the journal will compel you to design goal-based solutions.
And although financial tracking and budgeting apps like Money Dashboard can also help you keep track of your spending and saving in one spot, some people find it comforting to write or copy it down.
How do I get started in bullet journaling?
A quick Google search of expense trackers + bullet journals will produce stunning watercolour and museum-worthy artistic designs and intricate page borders made with an arsenal of artist tools. Don’t be overwhelmed.
To create a bullet journal finance tracker of your own, you will only need a notebook and a pen. Optional extras for your budgeting bullet journal setup include coloured pens, highlighters, paint supplies, coloured tape, and stickers.
There is no right or wrong way to visualise your goals or track your spending. If you are looking for ideas, people are sharing millions of photos of their beautiful bullet journal financial planners on social media, so there are many templates you can copy or use for inspiration.
Is there a bullet journal budget app?
Tracking spending with a bullet journal is not a rejection of digital options. Your notebook and pen approach can benefit from the digital support. Money Dashboard helps you budget, plan and automatically track spending and savings, which can help you organise your budget tracker bullet journal, keep the figures straight and spot any unexpected expenses.
