Don’t have time for long budgeting sessions? Try a daily money minute instead!

This week, we’re looking at a new-ish money management technique called daily money minute which involves — you guessed it — taking a minute a day to manage your money.

Unless you’re Thanos snapping his fingers, there’s really not that much you can get done in 60 seconds or less.

We could pretend that we’d all do something productive with a spare 60 seconds — like clean your desk or get a few pushups in — but, if we’re honest, we’d probably just scroll through our Instagram feed or take another “What Type of Sandwich are You?” Buzzfeed quiz. 

(We think we’d be a BLT, if you’re wondering. And of course we linked it! We know you want to know whether your a PB and J or meatball sub…) 

Because, let’s be honest, there aren’t many really productive things that you can get done in less than a minute.

Except, that is, for taking 60 seconds to do your Daily Money Minute…

What is a Daily Money Minute?

A daily money minute is easily one of the quickest ways to stay on top of your finances and get into the habit of being aware of where you are spending (and possibly wasting) your money.

And, best of all, it’s dead easy. 

There’s no pulling out a pad and paper and taking pages of notes. 

No rushing for a calculator to do complicated maths. 

And no hours of sitting looking at spreadsheets or bills hoping that the ground swallows you up.

Instead, all you do is take one simple minute of your day to take a look at your finances. 

You could do it on your morning commute,  your lunch break or while your dinner cooks, or whenever you have a spare minute during the day. (even if it’s taking a quick look while your boss isn’t looking).

So, how do you do a daily money minute? 

Well, the specifics are up to you, but the main idea is to check in on your finances every day to see where you stand.

Did you spend too much eating out at lunch yesterday? Is there a bill coming up? Have you got enough to cover it? How much could you tuck away this week into your rainy day fund?

Whatever you do, it’s about taking a minute every day to keep track of your money so that you’re always on top of (and keeping track of) your money. 

Will a daily money minute help your budget? 

You bet! One of the biggest problems with a monthly budget is that (most of the time) you only sit down once a month to check your spending and reassess for next month.

Working in 30-day blocks like this doesn’t let you react to short-term problems that might crop up during the month. If you’re not on top of your finances, you could end up running into all other kinds of problems that no one wants to deal with, like missing an important payment.

With a daily money minute, you’re actively working on your personal finances every day. 

You’ll be able to see if you’ve overspent (and perhaps underspend the next day to balance it out).

You’ll be able to notice any issues with your account straight away. (Which is especially important if there are any charges you weren’t expecting or that you think might be dodgy.)

On top of all of that, you’ll be able to tweak and adjust your approach to spending each day so that you stay on-budget and get through each month without any hiccups.

If you’d like to get started with a daily money minute, here’s what you can do:

Step 1: Set aside a time every day to check on your money. If you can, make sure it’s the same time every day, as this helps it become a habit that will stick.

Step 2: Download all the personal finance apps you think you’ll need and put them near or in a folder with each other on your homescreen. 

We recommend downloading a budgeting app, your banking and credit card apps and perhaps even an automated savings app. That way, you can see how you’re doing and possibly tuck some money away every couple of days. There are a lot of free apps out there that can really help you save up a lot, especially in conjunction with your daily money minute

Step 3: For the first week or two, set an alarm on your phone to do your daily money minute, otherwise you’ll definitely forget! 

Step 4: Check in on your finances every day and see whether you need to adjust your approach or cut back your spending in certain places. It’s not all about cutting back, though. You might also realise that you can treat yourself at the weekend!

That’s it. 

A daily money minute is, quite possibly, the simplest, easiest and quickest money management technique we’ve ever come across. We love it!  

If you’re intrigued, why not give it a shot this month and see how it goes? If you love it, make sure you let us know too! We’d love to hear from you! 

For more money management and budgeting advice, make sure you check out the budgeting section of the Bamboo Blog!