If you're like me, you purchase just about everything on a check/debit card. To tally my expenditures and come up with monthly averages, I used Quicken (you could easily use MS Money or whatever else is out there.)
With these types of programs, you can set up your own categories. I made the categories the same as those on schedule J. For example, 1-Mortgage, 2a-Util-Electricity-Gas, 2b-Util-Water-Sewer, 2c-Telephone, and so on.
Then you can use the reporting facility and choose the appropriate time frame to show expenses for each category by month and average over the months.
If you have online banking, you can download 3-6 months of your transactions into the program without typing anything in. A lot of times you won't even have to look back at your receipts for something like gas since you're familiar with the gas station. I use Quicken Deluxe since I was able to scan the receipts and attach it to the transaction.
The programs usually run about $30. Some web sites have free trial downloads. Sometimes you can get a good rebate when you purchase anti-virus software (don't forget that in your expenses!!)
If you use cash for a lot of purchases, you can still set-up an account called "Cash" and manually enter based on your receipts.
I know this method saved me a lot of time and aggravation.
With these types of programs, you can set up your own categories. I made the categories the same as those on schedule J. For example, 1-Mortgage, 2a-Util-Electricity-Gas, 2b-Util-Water-Sewer, 2c-Telephone, and so on.
Then you can use the reporting facility and choose the appropriate time frame to show expenses for each category by month and average over the months.
If you have online banking, you can download 3-6 months of your transactions into the program without typing anything in. A lot of times you won't even have to look back at your receipts for something like gas since you're familiar with the gas station. I use Quicken Deluxe since I was able to scan the receipts and attach it to the transaction.
The programs usually run about $30. Some web sites have free trial downloads. Sometimes you can get a good rebate when you purchase anti-virus software (don't forget that in your expenses!!)
If you use cash for a lot of purchases, you can still set-up an account called "Cash" and manually enter based on your receipts.
I know this method saved me a lot of time and aggravation.