One of the easiest ways to see what's happening with your money is to use the split transaction feature in MoneyLine. For example, let's say you go to a store like Target or Walmart to buy groceries. Along with your groceries, you stop off in the automotive section to pick up a couple of quarts of oil, then stop by the clothing section to pick up a few pairs of socks, and finally drop by the toy aisle to buy a birthday gift for a young relative.
Once you're home and have put away the groceries and the other items you bought, enter the purchase in MoneyLine. You can either record the total amount of the transaction and stop there, or take a few extra seconds and split the transaction into different categories. After entering the total amount spent at the store, break down exactly how much money you spent on food and allocate that to the Groceries category. Record the amount spent for the motor oil to Auto, put the socks under Clothing, and finally the toy can go under Gifts.
You can even add subcategories to track things in still finer detail. For example, if you have two cars, you could make a subcategory for each vehicle underneath Auto expenses.
Over time, as you continue to categorize and split transactions you will have a better picture of exactly where you are spending your money. This helps when you are trying to create or stick to a budget—another feature of MoneyLine. You may find areas where you can cut back, or maybe you will find a few extra dollars that you can use for vacation and entertainment expenses—that's when keeping track of your money becomes fun.
Keeping track of your personal finances can be a chore, but with MoneyLine Personal Finance Software you'll find that it's actually a lot quicker than you may have feared.
After purchasing the upgrade to allow entering a split transaction, what needs to be done to make the split work?
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