TRACK IT
- Treavor Dodsworth CFP®, CPA, CKA®
- May 16
- 1 min read
One of the most helpful financial steps someone can take requires little to no financial knowledge. It is simply this- routinely list out the state of your financial picture.

Regular tracking of your financial picture will naturally result in you paying more attention to your financial picture which could allow you to catch negative trends early and see opportunities more quickly.
So what does this look like:
For assets you could have a spreadsheet that lists owner (i.e. husband/wife/etc.), location (i.e. Fidelity/Chase/etc.), type of asset (i.e. IRA/Checking/etc.), value, and date the value was pulled.
For liabilities you should have all of the above but also include a column for monthly payment amount and interest rate.
You should also track cash flow. This one is a little more difficult but at a minimum have a rough idea of what you are spending on the five uses of money - Giving, Taxes, Debt, Lifestyle and Savings. Lifestyle is effectively any expense that isn't in one of the other categories. For example, groceries, auto insurance, car repairs, etc.
While it seems (and may be) simple, having an accurate understanding of where your net assets and cash flow are forces you to be honest with yourself and is one of the first steps to having a sense of control in your finances.