Financial Planning Week #5: Keeping Track

As I've mentioned the PA legislature declared this Financial Planning Week so I've been posting bits on the subject this week.

Today's post is a big shout out for good record keeping and knowing where you stand, financially speaking. Mr. Jane keeps a spread sheet of our car loan and mortgage, as well as our various investments. Each table is taped inside the door of the pantry, so every time either of us is rooting around for a can of soup or taco mix packet, we see those numbers. I can track our progress month by month, crossing off each payment as the first of the month passes. Sometimes when I'm looking through those pretty catalogs that come in the mail, I open the pantry door and look at our debt and investment numbers. I have to ask myself, where do I want our money to go? Do I need another sweater? Would it be better to send someone a gift basket, at an exorbitant price, or create and mail my own? It does make me stop and think.