My brother told me to track every single dollar for a month, and I thought it was a waste of time.

He said to write down every coffee, gas fill-up, and grocery trip, no matter how small. I did it in a cheap notebook and the total for random stuff was over $400, which blew my mind. I cut back on the daily drive-thru runs and put that cash toward my credit card instead. Has anyone else tried this and been shocked by what they found?

3 comments

3 Comments

henrygrant2mo ago

Honestly, I tried that and just found it depressing without changing my spending.

thomas2912mo ago

Feel that, tracking every penny just made me feel worse too.

walker.jana1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, that's totally it. Seeing every single coffee or snack written down just made me feel guilty for normal stuff. HenryGrant is right about it being depressing without helping. I stopped because watching the numbers go down just made me anxious, not smarter with money. Felt like I was punishing myself for living.