How to track spending

Keeping track of your spending can be helpful whether you’re trying to create a budget or just want to monitor your account to protect against overdrafts or fraudulent activity. And while paper and pencil still work great, these days there are many convenient digital tools that allow you to track your spending in real time. 

Read on to learn more about different ways to keep tabs on your spending.

What you’ll learn:

• Capital One offers a number of free digital tools to its customers that can help track spending and expenses.

• Customers can get access to their account balances and transaction history through Eno and the Capital One Mobile app.

• Map Your Spend allows users to sort and rank spending categories for a holistic view of their spending.

Budgeting apps and expense-tracking software can make it easy to monitor your cash flow and track spending across all your credit card and bank accounts. But those digital solutions sometimes come with a monthly fee. Here are three free digital tools Capital One customers can use to monitor spending.

When you log in to your online banking account on the Capital One website or use the Capital One Mobile app, you’ll have instant access to your credit card statements with records of your transactions in real time. 

You can also view full lists of your recurring payments, such as automatic bill payments and subscriptions, which can be especially helpful if you’re trying to stick to a 50/30/20 budgeting plan. Seeing a list of your automatic payments in one spot can help you better identify which recurring monthly expenses are needs and which are wants.

Eno, Capital One’s virtual assistant, boasts numerous money management features that can be especially helpful for anyone trying to gain more insight into their spending habits. You can chat with Eno to check your account balance or available credit or to have a record of your recent transactions sent right to your mobile device. And Eno can also help monitor your credit card account to alert you to things like duplicate charges or higher-than-expected tips left at restaurants. These features can provide added peace of mind and help you avoid overspending as you work toward your savings goals.

If you’re looking for a more itemized way to track your spending, the Map Your Spend expense tracker lets you map your spending across common spending categories like housing, child care, groceries and other monthly bills.

Once you categorize expenses, you can sort them according to wants or needs and assign them a level of importance from low to high. Map Your Spend will then create a custom map based on your spending, which you can review should you need to make spending adjustments to help you reach your financial goals sooner.

Tools like the Capital One Mobile app, Eno and the Map Your Spend spending tracker can make it easier to review your spending habits and see what adjustments you could make. 

If you’re interested in using digital tools to better manage your money but don’t know where to start, download the Capital One Mobile app today. It’s easy to use and free for Capital One customers.