We knew we wanted save up a good portion of money before we moved back to Indiana from the DC area.
YNAB 4 HIDDEN CATAGORIES HOW TO
Setting Up Long-Term Goals: Seeing the big picture also allows us to analyze how to meet long-term goals.For example, we switched cell phone carriers to Republic Wireless (and then Google Fi) to save hundreds of dollars a year. By looking closely at expenses in certain categories, I can find ways to get better value for my money. Getting the Best Deal: Sometimes, looking at our spending makes us realize that the issue is not short-term desires vs larger goals, but just that we need to find a better deal: maybe our spending on cell phones, transportation, or insurance deserves a second look to make sure we are getting our money’s worth.Align Spending with Values: Seeing these numbers gives us the power to evaluate whether our spending is actually in line with our values, or whether we are overlooking larger goals in favor of short term desires.There are three primary benefits of looking at this big picture data: Because of that, we moved closer to work as soon as we could.
Also, the first year we tracked our spending we were SHOCKED at how much we were spending just on commuting to work. But several times when tracking our spending we’ve realized that a ‘few’ times eating out weren’t actually that few, and that we may need to stop eating out for a while in order to meet our goals. You will be surprised (we always are!), and you can't hide from yourself.įor example, we believe that we go out to eat infrequently. The numbers don’t lie and looking at your spending very clearly illustrates your choices and habits and what you value. I will warn you though – you will learn things about yourself that you never knew (and perhaps didn’t want to know!). Tracking your spending answers these essential questions! When you’ve tracked your spending for a month or more you can look back at your numbers and identify trends, track patterns, and put a REAL dollar figure on your coffee/manicure/carwashing/escape room habit. What are you spending money on? How much is your rent? How much gas do you buy a month? How many coffees? How many ice cream cones? How much for groceries? There are many different puzzle pieces to personal finance, but the number one most important first step before all else forever and ever amen is knowing Where. Why You Should Track Your Spending -or- Knowledge is Power It is one simple action that by itself will lead to positive changes in your finances and your outlook on life. It’s not glamorous, but it will LITERALLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE. And yes, I feel quite ashamed…because tracking your spending is the bomb! Seriously. Mostly because we were overwhelmed with moving and business-ing. In addition to losing a lot of my personal financial habits, we also stopped deliberately tracking our spending, categorizing our credit card purchases, and creating our usual financial projections. That’s because we did a terrible job tracking our spending last year. You can see a short video I recorded about Larry and his books here.You may have noticed that we didn’t post an “Everything We Spent in 2017” post this year. There are, of course, other important areas of my life, but these are where I come alive. I don’t think I could survive without the two. Reading and Music are both very important to me in my life.
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