I admit: I’m a Quicken user. My husband and I have tracked our household finances on Quicken software since we bought our first Macintosh home computer in 1996.

I don’t use all the features, and I’ve got some serious debugging to do in my database with entry errors I made in the past. But the software helps me balance the checkbooks and compiles reports how much we’ve spent on what. And that is pretty useful assistance.

The blogger at I’ve Paid for This Twice Already uses a different spreadsheet-based system that works for her.

Now, computer software is not the only way one can track household expenses. Here are some low-tech / low expense options:

• You’ve probably heard of the “envelope” method? Lots of financial experts have referred to it. There’s a stack of envelopes, each marked with a budget item. On payday, one sorts the money into the appropriate envelope. Gas money here, grocery money there. The idea is you stop spending in a particular category when you run out of money in that envelope; or make a quick decision as to which envelope to raid. The problem is: most people don’t spend money on a cash basis any more.
• What about tracking by paper? For several years before I put personal finances on a home computer, I used a notebook and worksheet method promoted by Christian Financial Concepts, now known as Crown Financial Ministries. The problem is: the paper method got way too complex for me to track after I got married again and went from single parent finances to a two-income / two-checkbook family. (CFC now offers both paper and electronic versions, if you like their system.)
• And have you thought about a dry erase board? Seriously! Ana at DebtFree Revolution came up with a dry erase board system that works for her and her husband. She likes the fact that the monthly income and expenses are easy to see at a glance. The problem: “Our budget board is all quite simple, immune to software glitches and hard drive crashes … but not immune to cats’ tails LOL.”

Regardless of the details on how you track your money, once you get started you will find many, many reasons to keep your household financial records organized. Once you realize where all your household money goes over the course of a month or a year, you may be able to provide your own “expert” answers to routine family financial questions such as:

• Can we afford a bigger house payment?
• Do our expenses make sense with our income level?
• What month will the next car insurance payment be due, and what other expenses will need to be re-arranged during that pay cycle?
• What did we spend on the expense categories that college financial aid applications are asking about?
• What debt is the most logical one to pay down or pay off first?
• How much money should we budget for the medical Flexible Spending Account during enrollment season?