I take out my wallet and hand the guy behind the counter two crisp dollar bills with barely a thought. I sip the coffee and I’m not sure if I actually even wanted it. What is the mental process involved in the action of opening up my wallet and paying for something? The motion of my hand reaching in and pulling out the money and handing it over, picking out an item to consume?

This month I’m trying to pay close attention to what I spend money on, when I spend money, and why I spend money. As I’ve tried to stay on top of the whole AIG bonus controversy, it’s made me want to be smarter about my own personal finances. Not that I think that if I personally have a handle on my month-to-month cash flow that the US economy will follow suit and get all better, but a little bit of awareness never hurt anybody.

Since March 1st I’ve been keeping a daily spending log in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It was really easy to make and it looks like this (note – these numbers are made up):

In the left hand column I put down the money I’m earning. Next comes the day of the week and the date. Following that are each of the categories that I tend to spend money in, color-coded. For instance, if on Friday March 6th I spend $15 on groceries, I would type 15 in the corresponding box and color it green. At the end of the month I will add up each column. It is less overwhelming and less amorphous this way. I find things easier to understand if I can visualize them.

Having to remember what I spent money on at the end of every day when I’m logging my expenses makes me remember about it in the moment that I’m about to buy something. I’m definitely still spending money – this isn’t about depriving myself of anything. It’s just about taking a closer look at the moment of exchange.

When I’m not feeling well, for instance, I’ve noticed that I spend more on things like groceries and personal care items (i.e. things I’d buy at Duane Reade). On weekends I spend more on “other food” (i.e. eating at a restaurant, Starbucks, etc). These things might sound obvious, but maybe they’re not.

At the end of the month I’m going to tally everything up and see what happens. Maybe I’ll modify my spending, maybe I won’t have to.