2008 recession - Frugal record keeping

Some of you may need to keep a journal of your spending while others know where their "leaks" are located and can concentrate on those areas alone.
In my case, we have several "leaks" !

I keep a daily journal of all money paid out.
Start your journal with what you can remember spending last week.

For example:
Vehicle gas expenses
Vehicle maintenance
Childrens school expenses
Childrens clothing expenses
Recreational expenses
Credit card expenses
Grocery expenses
utility expenses
Mortgage
etc.

You might also write down some details from day to day as a reminder of for example:
Why your gas expenses were so high ...the kids had multiple basketball practices.
Gas to the school is $2.97 per gallon at this time so it took 2 gallons per trip.

Or grocery expenses were higher this month due to Thanksgiving dinner costs.

This will give you something to compare to in the coming days, weeks, months and years.

You might also want to write down in your journal what your savings are at the begining point.

Trust me in 6 months you will wanna congradulate yourself and your family in the areas you were most successful with, and know where your families "leaks" have moved to.