Who doesn’t want a little extra money at the end of the month? When salaries feel stretched and rent climbs, having some extra cash to spend, save for future investments, or simply treat oneself can feel out of reach. Yet for many, a small cushion every month is a realistic possibility when smart money habits are in place.
There are several methods to keep track of monthly expenses and make the most of income. One approach comes from Japan and has stood the test of time for over a century: kakebo. This term, written with kanji, translates to household finance book and represents a simple, practical system for managing money at home.
Five tips to save at the end of the month
Kakebo emerged in 1904 through the efforts of Motoko Hani, a pioneering journalist and founder of the magazine La compañera de la mujer. The method was meant to empower women by giving them clearer control over the household earnings their families relied on. It centers on awareness and deliberate choice, turning money management into a daily practice rather than a once a month task [Source: historical overview of kakebo].
Harv Eker: How to save the millionaire who lost everything
In essence, kakebo is a straightforward ledger that records monthly income and expenses. The system organizes the month into quarters, weeks, and days, and it invites users to log every money movement with honesty and consistency. This practice helps illuminate spending patterns and reveals where adjustments can be made to protect and grow savings [Source: personal finance literature on kakebo].
Kakebo presents the month as four major blocks of spending:
- Survival: essential costs such as meals, rent, transport, and other fixed living expenses.
- Optional: discretionary spending on leisure that could be reduced if needed, including nights out, dining out, and shopping for clothes.
- Culture: expenses for museums, concerts, movies, and other monthly cultural activities.
- Additional features: unforeseen costs that arise unexpectedly, like device repairs, birthdays, or traffic fines.
How to save 650 euros per year: the definitive method
With kakebo, each payment is recorded in detail. The practice encourages noting even small daily expenditures, a process that can feel tedious but proves valuable over time. A sensible starting point is to identify fixed monthly costs and keep receipts to log them at the end of each day. This habit builds a transparent view of where money goes and sets the stage for meaningful change [Source: practical application of kakebo techniques].
One of the core ideas is to create a monthly financial goal and outline steps to reach it. It also invites a mindset shift to support that goal and includes an estimate of the amount that can be saved. Through consistent usage, individuals gain a clear picture of overall spending and begin to trim unnecessary costs. The result is a stronger capacity to end the month with more money saved rather than spent, a benefit that compounds over time [Source: behavioral finance perspectives on habit formation].