No matter how carefully you plan your finances at the start of the month, they always seem to go awry halfway through, don’t they? And you are left with hardly any money and the long painful process of trying to figure out just where you managed to spend all your money.

It is critically important to address your messy finances if you do not want to face serious problems in the not too distant future. It does not have to be that difficult and the discipline involved in putting in place a sensible, achievable budgeting plan will serve you well for the rest of your life.

There’s a simple workaround to this rather disheartening problem, and it involves the accountants equivalent of Dear Diary. At the end of the day, simply discipline yourself into writing down all your expenditure, right down to that seemingly miniscule purchase of a box of mints. There are many advantages to this chore.

1) It’s all down on paper Putting it all down gives you an easy to track record, if you do ever decide to sit down and follow the money trail. And it certainly is a lot easier than racking your brains about just where you had dinner last Friday, and at what cost.

2) Automatic Brakes Writing down your daily expenditures can often be a real eye-opener. Suddenly, expenses that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time can seem prohibitively exorbitant in a cold, clear frame of mind. And on the morrow, you are that much more likely to be rational with your money

3) Get back in shape Sometimes, expenses are unavoidable. But the simple act of writing them down can leave you very aware about how much money you have left over for the rest of month, if you wish to stick to your plan. And that leaves you that much more likely to stick to your plan, rather than go way over budget.

4) Tracking down IOU’s Even the most well intentioned of friends forget to repay that ‘little loan’ that you had made a while ago, and you yourself are equally liable to do so. But a daily diary of your expenses can help you keep track of these loans, which can add up pretty quickly.

It’s not the easiest, or let’s face it, even the most pleasant thing to do. But a track of your daily expenses can help you get your finances back on track pretty quickly. Go ahead and give it a try.