Thinking about "Good Ways to Spend Money": A Recommendation for Keeping a Household Account Book

Hello.
I am Yuki Inui, a housewife and housekeeper.

This may be sudden, but how do you all manage your money?

In our home, I leave asset and household management to my husband, but
actually, I also quietly keep a household account book.

So, this time

・The reason I keep a household account book
・How I keep my household account book
・Actual ways I spend money (successes and failures)

I will introduce these three points.

The reason I keep a household account book

The purpose of me keeping a household account book is
not to increase assets or to save and economize,

but to increase "valuable ways to spend money" for myself while simultaneously reducing wasteful spending.

Since I realized that how I spend money ismy way of life itself, I thought
I want to be able to spend money in better waysand started keeping a household account book.

In fact, since I started keeping a household account book, I have become aware of little habits, such as:
"I tend to spend money on things like this."
"I might have been buying the same things over and over."
"I was forcing myself to save money and wasting my time..."
I have started to notice these kinds of small tendencies.

For example, I used to frequently make impulse purchases on Rakuten Ichiba while in a late-night mood,
or go into a cafe and order drinks that didn't seem very healthy.

Also, there were times when I would keep pushing myself even though I was tired,
eventually ending up sick, incurring medical expenses (and wasting time)...

By visualizing my spending, unconscious waste comes to light,
and I feel motivated to spend money on things that are more valuable to me!

I believe that is the wonderful thing about this household account book.

How I keep my household account book

Next, I would like to introduce how I keep my household account book.

Items used

First, what I use is the
"Free Weekly Notebook" from the 100-yen shop Seria.
Free Weekly Notebook.

↓ It is a simply designed notebook where pages like this continue throughout.

There are various tools like apps and Excel, but
I eventually settled on "handwriting."

There are three main reasons why I like this notebook.

• Since it uses a style where you write the dates yourself, you can start at any time.

• With 56 pages, you can record about half a year (27 weeks) worth of entries.

• It is A5 size, making it easy to carry.

I love that it has a high degree of freedom, so I can write in it however I like!

Also, I use this notebook with a MUJI notebook cover attached.
It has a slim pocket, which is convenient for quickly storing receipts!

Additionally, the pen I love to use is the uni-ball Signo (0.28mm).

I prefer pens with a fine tip, and
this pen in particular is exceptionally easy to write with,
and the ink almost never skips while I am writing.

They are also commonly sold at 100-yen shops,
so I often buy them along with my notebooks.

I also use highlighters and red pens to review my household account book.

How to keep a household account book

The way I keep my household account book is truly simple.
I just write down each of the day's expenses one by one.

Typical household account books categorize expenses into things like "food costs" or "medical expenses," right?
However, I do not categorize anything at all.

This is influenced by a book called "Zun's Household Account Book."

When you categorize, you often find yourself wondering, "Should these socks go under 'children's expenses' or 'clothing expenses'?"
I wanted to eliminate that hesitation, so I stopped categorizing.

I only write down the following three things.

• The name of the store where I shopped

• The item purchased

• The amount (including tax)

I write down every single item individually.
This is also the "Zun's Household Account Book" style, because it makes it easier to find the good and bad points of my spending.

Also, just by writing down all my expenses, I can see at a glance what I did that day, so
this account book also serves as a diary.

Tips for keeping up with a household account book loosely

By the way, I often hear people say things like, "It's hard to keep up with a household account book!" or "I gave up after three days..."

So, I'd like to talk a little bit about my own tips for keeping up with a household account book as well.

I believe the most important thing is not trying to write it perfectly.

In fact, there are often days when I'm tired or busy and don't write in it at all.

At those times, I just put the receipts in the pocket of my notebook cover and write them all down later.

If you get too fired up about keeping it going, it becomes a pressure, so I feel that
“praising myself a little on the days I manage to record” is what suits me best.

Also, deciding on a general time of day to write and keeping the notebook in a place where it's easy to take out are also important.

I make it a point to write the previous day's expenses in my notebook after I finish my morning chores.

Since "household account book after cleaning" has become a habit,
I rarely forget to do it.

Also, since I keep my notebook and pen in the bag I always use,
I take the notebook and pen out of my bag once I finish cleaning,
so that I can write in it immediately.

Looking back at how I spent my money in the first half of 2025

Now, next I will introduce how I actually spent my money.

Since I just finished writing in the first household account book of this year the other day,

I have ranked the expenses that I thought "this was a good way to spend money" and
the expenses that I thought "this might have been a bit of a waste..."
respectively!

◎ Top 3 Expenses with Value

1st Place: Switch 2 & Mario Kart World

First, the undisputed number one is the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World.

My child begged me to enter a lottery for it, and I happened to win. Haha.

At first, I thought, "What should I do... such an expensive item...!" but
once I bought it, the whole family got completely hooked.

Our time at home has become even more enjoyable.

I used to play Super Famicom Mario Kart a lot when I was little, so
it feels somewhat profound to be playing it with my own child now.

2nd Place: Spring Break Domestic Trip

Second place is the 2-day, 1-night domestic trip we took as a family during spring break.

The hotel buffet had a chocolate fountain, and
the kids were so excited!

We were able to see the ocean, which we don't usually get to see, and made some great memories.

3rd Place: A Solo Trip to Kyoto

Third place is the solo trip to Kyoto I took recently when I was given some time to myself.

I enjoyed eating obanzai at a leisurely pace,
visited art museums at my own speed,
and was happy to have many experiences I can't have when I'm usually with my family.

Once the kids get a little older,
I think it would be fun to come here as a family.

◎ The Top 3 Wasteful Expenditures

1st Place: Doraemon movie tickets (for 4 people)

Next, the worst category.
1st place is movie tickets.

When booking the movie,
I actually made a mistake and booked tickets for a different theater...!

Since movie tickets are non-refundable,
the 5,000 yen I paid at the time of booking just vanished...

I tearfully rebooked them and enjoyed the movie separately.

It's a bitter memory, but the Doraemon movie was very entertaining, so it was fine. lol

2nd Place: Snacks and bottled drinks bought when going to the supermarket with the kids

The 2nd worst place is the snacks and bottled drinks I'm forced to buy when I go to the supermarket with my children.

Regarding this, I still haven't really thought of a way to avoid it,
and it's often a hassle to say no, so I end up buying them.

The amount for each time is small, but it adds up, and in total, it's quite an expense.

Since I don't know how to refuse them well,
lately, I've been careful to avoid going to the supermarket with the kids as much as possible. lol

3rd Place: Rice

3rd place is rice.

I usually receive rice as a return gift from my hometown tax donation program, but
this year I mismanaged my inventory and ended up buying it at the supermarket several times.

As my children grow up little by little,
the amount of rice we consume is also increasing,
so I have reflected on the need to make sure I order with plenty of buffer...!

That concludes my review of how I spent my money in the first half of 2025.

In closing

I suspect many people keep a household account book to increase their assets,

but for me, it has become a
tool to identify how to spend money in a way that makes my daily life more enjoyable.

Of course, increasing your assets to gain more freedom in life is important, too.
But I thinkenjoying this very moment is just as important.

Moving forward, I want to continue keeping this household account book while exploring what "good ways to spend money" mean to me.

What are some valuable ways for you to spend your money?
If you'd like, please let me know in the comments!

Thank you very much for reading until the end.

#WaysToSpendMoney