My dad told me to track every dollar for a month, and I thought he was nuts

This was maybe five years ago, right after I moved to Chicago. I was always broke but couldn't figure out why. My dad, who's always been careful with money, told me to just write down every single thing I spent money on for 30 days, no matter how small. I thought it was a huge waste of time... like, who cares about a coffee or a parking meter? But I did it anyway, on a notepad. Seeing it all on paper was a shock. I was spending almost $200 a month just on snacks and drinks from gas stations and vending machines. It was all these little three and four dollar things adding up without me even noticing. I cut that stuff out almost completely and put the money toward my student loan instead. Has anyone else had a simple piece of advice like that totally change how you see your spending?

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_ross20d ago

Totally get that, my mom made me do the same thing with a little notebook. Could not believe how much I was dropping on takeout just because I was too tired to cook. What was your biggest shock when you looked at your list?

spencer66420d ago

So @mary_ross, what did you end up doing to cut back on those takeout orders?

victor_hall10d ago

Felt that in my soul. Seeing the total for a month of delivery was a real wake-up call. Started doing big batch cooking on Sundays to save my wallet.