Tracking your money

Only 15% of U.S. adults say they're currently wealthy, according to a recent survey from MagnifyMoney, but 51% believe they will be wealthy someday.

There are many ways to build wealth and become richer. You could start a business, invest in real estate, or climb the corporate ladder to earn bigger paychecks, for example. But there's one simple thing everybody can do right now to become wealthier: Start tracking your spending.

Why tracking your expenses is key to becoming rich

One of the keys to building wealth is handling your money wisely. If you don't have the best money-management skills, then even if you do eventually become rich, you likely won't stay rich for long. And the foundation of good money management is being able to track your spending.

Tracking your spending has several benefits. First, it can give you a clear idea of exactly where your money is going each month. When you don't keep a close eye on your expenses, it's easy to overspend without realizing it. Case in point, the average American spends around $483 per month on non-essential costs, despite the fact that close to 60% of those same people say they're living paycheck to paycheck, a survey from Charles Schwab found. If you don't know exactly how much you're spending each month and where your money is going, it can feel like you're struggling to get by financially -- even if you actually do have plenty of cash to spare.

Another benefit of tracking your money is that it makes it easier to see if there are areas of your budget where you can cut back. Sometimes it's hard to grasp exactly how much you're spending on certain expenses, especially smaller costs. If you spend $10 per day going out to lunch, that doesn't seem like it would make a significant impact on your overall financial situation. But that $10 per day can turn into $300 per month or $3,600 per year. When you have all your expenses mapped out in front of you, it's easier to spot these trends and cut back if your spending habits start to get out of control.