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Tax time often brings surprises for many Americans.
You might be surprised byhow much you earnedand wonder where it went.
Having a guesstimate of your spending will never give you the full picture of your full budget.
Experts recommend tracking your expenses andusing budgeting methods to estimate your spending accurately.
As wealth increases, your spending isnt just about how much youre spending on groceries and utilities.
It starts to include multiple homes, travel, charitable giving …
Were providing that granular detail to understand where every dollar goes, Reed explained.
Theyre so busy working, theyre not traveling as much as they planned, Reed said.
Reed said clients often have this epiphany when it comes to charitable giving as well.
Does your spending match the way you view the world?
Its not always about cutting back, Reed said.
Its about spending more strategically.
You need accurate and recent data, Reed said.
Otherwise, youre building a plan based on assumptions.
you might start by putting together a budget with detailed categories.
Youll almost always catch transactions that were not planned for, Reed said.
Then you might expand your categories to cover those things.
Finally, review your budget frequently to adjust for lifestyle changes and to ensure youre staying on track.
If youre naturally a spender, look at your budget at least quarterly, Reed said.
And if you feel like youre not meeting your financial goals, review it more frequently.
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