The arrival of October means that some of you will now be able to complete your spending chart for the month of September. A new chart, for use in October, accompanies this column. If you filled in the September chart, go ahead and do the same for October. When you have two months? figures, you can learn a lot more. But for now, let?s see what we know about you.

First off, if you couldn?t be bothered to fill out the chart, or started reading too late, don?t worry. Start now. It?s never too late to start to get rich slowly. If you did follow the instructions, you should have two or three pieces of paper.

One is the spending chart of cash that went through your hands in September. The other is a list of those items you bought by cheque (or you can wait until your monthly bank statement arrives and take the information from there), and maybe a list of stuff you bought by credit card (ditto your credit card statement). If you don?t have these figures for September, but can get them, do so now.

If you?re a latecomer, or a late starter, read this to see what will happen at the end of October, when you?re fully on the programme.

Using the spending information you have from cheques, credit cards and cash, amalgamate them all into a single column of figures, using the categories on the chart. If those categories don?t suit you, make up your own categories that mean something to you. The target is a list of the kinds of things you spend money on, and how much you spent on them in September. I?ll let you work out how to do all that. Don?t panic. It?s basic maths, just addition. Use a calculator, or have your bright children do it for you.

There is one more thing you have to do with the list before you can use it. Add in, or take out, any items that don?t relate to September. I?ll give you an example. I paid October?s rent in advance last week because I was away and wanted to get the rent paid while I had the money, rather than wait until I got back and had spent it. So, once I complete my September list, I will take out the October rent. At the end of October, I?ll need to remember to add it back in to that month?s list.

So now you know roughly how much you spent in September, and what you spent it on. What does this information tell you? First off, and most importantly, compare your spending total to what you earned this month. If you are on salary, look at the net figure, the money you actually received. If you earn a living in cash, or any other method that doesn?t involve receiving one or two paycheques a month, try to work out what you took home, net of taxes and deductions, for the month. The difference between your income and what you spent is your savings. If it?s a minus, it means that you spent more than you earned. You?ll need to fix that problem soon, or you?ll be heading for trouble.

Those who are paying a mortgage will need to make one further adjustment. Your mortgage payment is not considered entirely spending. Most of it, the capital element, is the repayment of money you borrowed. Capital payments such as the mortgage are, in fact, a form of saving, so don?t be depressed if your mortgage payment puts your spending above your income ? but do try to come up with a plan to meet your expenses as soon as possible. If you can?t make your mortgage payments, you?ll be in a world of pain.

With just one month?s figures to look at, there?s not too much to learn yet, but take a long, cool look at your spending. Stand back a little mentally as you do it. Is it what you imagined? Are you happy with the way you spend your money? Are there areas where you wish you?d spent a little less? Do you feel that you got value for what you spent? If you dropped money on clothes, for example, did you buy clothes you will wear, or will they merely adorn your wardrobe for years to come? Having been on the ?get rich slow? programme for a long time, I can tell some other things from my September information. I can, for example, look at September last year and see what that cost me. I can do that, but I don?t. What I do is to make the calculation every month, have a quick look to make sure I?m above water, and then put it all away. When six months have gone by, which evens up the score a little, I take a look at the numbers and see what needs fixing. In my case, that tends to lead to periods when I change nothing, and other periods when I declare an economy drive in force and try to stop spending so much money.

I find it easier to assess my spending twice a year, rather than monthly because, as you are now finding out, the whole process is boring. I would rather just spend whatever I wanted to and not give a hoot, but I live in the real world and am trying to achieve certain financial goals, so I have disciplined myself to spend the five minutes a day on the chart, half an hour a month adding everything up, and then an hour or two every six months, looking at the big picture. It works for me. Find a routine that works for you.

Since I don?t know what you spent in September, I can?t advise you what needs fixing ? maybe nothing ? but I can point to some general rules that have held up over time. The most important is that you should ideally not spend more than a quarter of your income on housing. That?s easy to say and harder to do. Bermudians, apparently, spend nearer a third. That extra bit, the difference between a quarter and a third, has to come out of the spending on something else. Most of the other ?rules? are sprinkled throughout this column, pretending not to be rules so that you won?t feel like I?m lecturing you.

To be honest, at this stage, just one month in, the biggest steps forward are not so much in analysing the data, but in setting up the habits of tracking costs and income that will last a lifetime. You need to be excited ? well, okay, not deathly bored ? by the prospect of taking control of your economic life. As you take command, you?ll find out who you are financially.

So, start again and fill out the information for October. Keep a list of your spending by cheque and credit card (or just keep the statements with that information handy). At the end of October, we?ll dig in a little more closely.

I know. You?re saying: ?I?ve been reading this column for weeks, and I?m still not rich.?

Well, if you have been reading this column for weeks, you are already nearer your goal than you were before the column started. I?m sorry you?re not rich yet. I?m sorry I?m not rich yet. But we?re going to be rich, and that should be cause for celebration. In due course, we?ll look at what the average Bermudian family earns and spends, and how you can compare yourself to the average.

Stay focused. Fill out the chart. Take this seriously. Rich is better.