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Watched my sister buy coffee every morning for 8 months, then she asked me why she's broke
My sister lives in Toledo and she called me last Tuesday asking where her money goes every month. I'd been staying with her for a week after her knee surgery, and I saw her hit the drive thru on her way to work every single morning, plus twice on weekends. That's roughly $6 a pop, so about $200 a month she never counts because it comes out in small chunks. She was sure the leak was her phone bill or some subscription, but she pulled up her bank app and the coffee shop charges alone were more than her car payment. Here's what people get wrong: they only budget the big bills and treat anything under $10 as invisible, but those small swipes stack up faster than rent does. I'm not saying skip the coffee, I'm saying look at the pile before you call yourself broke. Has anyone gotten a spouse or family member to actually track the small stuff, and how did you get them to do it without a fight?
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the_parker7d ago
Small stuff being invisible is a whole pattern, not just coffee. People will drive 20 minutes to save $5 on a TV but never add up the $4 energy drinks or the $12 in app fees they pay every week. My buddy swore his budget was tight and then found $90 a month going to vending machines at work. Getting someone to track it works better if you don't make it a lecture. Ask them to just write it down for two weeks, no judgment, then let the numbers do the talking.
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