Do you know how much you spend per month on food and beverages (I'm looking at you, 7-11 trips and work lunches) and personal care (can we say money-sucking drug store trips)? The new year is all about taking control, and most of you intend on saving more money or paying down debt in 2009. In order to find extra money in your budget to achieve your goals, you need to figure out where your spending can be trimmed. That's where my handy spending tracker comes in.

It's simple: For one month, track every single purchase, no matter how small. If you make a trip to the grocery store, take a moment to review your receipt so you're able to categorize everything into food, household, etc. You could wait to tally each category until the end of the month, or you can total each week to simplify the process.

Tracking your spending in this way makes every single purchase visible and paints a clear picture of where your money is going. After tracking, you should have a good idea of where you could be spending more wisely. I'll do a progress check with you on Feb. 12!

Download the SavvySugar Spending Tracker here or by clicking on the image above.