Decided to actually track every purchase under $20 for one month to see where my money was going. The results were horrifying.
$847 total. On things I literally forgot I bought within a week.
Coffee runs. Gas station snacks. Amazon impulse purchases at 2am. App subscriptions I don't use. "It's only $5" repeated 170 times.
That's a car payment. That's half my rent. That's money I constantly complain I don't have for savings or emergencies, meanwhile I'm spending it on shit I can't even remember buying.
The worst part? I was on my laptop going through my bank statement and kept seeing charges I had to Google because I genuinely didn't recognize them. Turns out they were MY purchases from two weeks ago that I'd already completely forgotten about.
The "it's only $5" mentality is killing me financially. Each purchase feels insignificant so I don't think about it. But small leaks sink ships, and apparently I've been slowly drowning my bank account $5 at a time.
Starting to actually track and budget this month. If I can cut even half of this unnecessary spending, that's $400+ back in my pocket monthly. For literally nothing except not buying shit I don't need and won't remember.
Anyone else track their small purchases and have this realization? What did you do to stop the bleeding?
I tracked my "small purchases" for a month. $847 on things I forgot I bought
byu/Adventurous-Run2237 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Adventurous-Run2237
27 Comments
I’ve been manually tracking literally every purchase since January 2020. It’s tedious, but it keeps me honest.
Click the pf wiki click budgeting
If it’s not in the budget, *do not buy it*
i track all purchases. i think i started about 2 years ago? i don’t save my past budgets/tracking sheets. i also add some lines to tell me where i should be in terms of spending 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 the way through the month.
I won’t say that You Need A Budget, but it sure sounds like you could use one
“Things I forgot I bought” is the perfect description of my bar tab.
Tracking purchases definitely helps, just make an excel sheet and write down every “fun/uneeded” thing you buy and how much it costs. Give yourself a budget for the month, and purchase accordingly (like if your budget is 400 you should only have spent about 200 halfway through the month.
I do this for food and let it dictate my grocery purchases. “Hmmm, I’m a bit behind. I guess pasta’s fine instead of chicken, and maybe I’ll bake some banana bread instead of grabbing a tub of ice cream.”
I track every single purchase no matter the size.
You have to
I always have a big savings goal in mind, and I find it helpful to ask myself which do I want more, this impulse purchase, or to save up more for my house down payment? Once I bought a house I decided I wanted to pay it off early, so that’s what I changed my question to. After that, the next question is do I want this thing or do I want to retire early?
For me it also helped to think about where the junk that I bought will end up. Almost everything that we buy ends up in a landfill someday, so ask yourself, do you really need this piece of fast fashion, this cheap target home decor piece, this plastic bottle, etc.
Every time I see one of those ads that’s like “do you know how much you’re spending on subscriptions per month??” and I’m like “yeah how could I not?” but then I see posts like this and remember we are in the minority
Damn, that’s crazy. I don’t log what I purchase but I am very conscious of what I spend money on. I rarely buy wants.
This is insanely impressive! Control your dollars or else they control you!
I stopped using Doordash.
At first it was a luxury. But as I got more complacent I started ordering it more and more and within 2 years I kept wondering “why am I not able to put as much into savings anymore?!”
The prices crept up. The frequency crept up. I did the math and my jaw dropped. Oops.
I give myself a self-imposed limit of once a month now. It’s a luxury. And it will stay as a luxury.
Savings is finally shooting back up again. Yay me.
I’ve been spending way too much lately. One thing that helps is thinking before you buy something “Do I really need this?” If the answer is no, don’t buy it. Impulse buying is very hard to stop though, but you can at least calm it down.
I’ve been tracking all purchases for a few years now. I keep a spreadsheet on my phone and update real time. Makes me feel much more in control of my spending. This also facilitates checking the credit card bills when they arrive (I buy everything on cc for points/rewards/deals and I use a lot of different cards based on best return for that particular purchase, so there are a lot of bills to go through).
When I first started budgeting this was me on Candy/Beer/EnergyDrinks. Just random vending machine or gas station purchases.
Not $847 worth, but it was still like $200/mo. I now just tack that into my “food” or “entertainment” budget and it helps keep costs down.
How do you track your expenses, manual, or use a specific app?
If they’re in person impulse purchases, give yourself a cash budget for them, put the cash in your wallet, and don’t touch your card. It’s not about *no little treats ever,* it’s about a manageable, budgeted amount of little treats.
Online is harder, but if it’s just Amazon, take your saved payment info off Amazon and log out. the friction of logging in and finding your wallet (don’t save that payment info!) can help slow you down enough to think twice. Their checkout process is deliberately very slippery. You gotta roughen it somehow.
As for app subscriptions – I mean, just cancel those, y’know?
Did this in 2020 and never went back. We were spending so much money on nothing. Everyone should track their expenses
When my paycheck hits my bank account, I transfer everything not budgeted to savings. Budget includes $50/paycheck for impulse purchases. When savings hits $1000, I transfer the excess savings balance to Ally.
This way when I look at my checking balance, it shows me the amount I expected to need for bills until next pay. That keeps me from impulse spending beyond what’s in the budget.
YNAB has saved me. You might find it helpful too. (You Need a Budget, app.)
This is good. This is power.
Try not to lament too hard on the cash. But this is 847 that was “lost” in your budget and making it ineffective. Now you’re better. Hell you could keep doing it if the money is working but you can make a choice now. Now you can actually do the other things that were in your budget cause you’re not short a grand every month.
Progress!
The way I do it is I put everything on my credit card, I’m only allowed to spend to a certain dollar value, and then I pay it off every month
This way it kind of doesn’t matter what stupid shit I buy because as long as I’m under my spending limit it doesn’t matter!
It’s not hard….. make coffee at home, don’t buy water outside, look for coupons and deals, etc. Wait a week for something you “have to have.”
It should be like clockwork, I don’t need this or that. More money you save the finer things in life you can enjoy. Traveling, dining, taking mom and dad to dinner etc.
Use cash, you’ll see it dwindling. I don’t have this problem, but I know a lot of people do and having something physical can help.
I am. I now track every single penny I spend. And with my vow to not eat at restaurants so much, I see that I am saving hundreds of dollars a month.
I would also argue if your car payment is 850 that’s killing you just as much… Yes cutting back on the small things will help but the amount of work to cut all those out v.s. getting into a car that’s a reasonable monthly payment and paying it off in 3 or so years and then driving it for another 4-5 after paying it off, will pay major dividends and not take nearly as much willpower after the initial start.
I also started manually tracking each expense recently. Those coffee runs do add up. Hoping to change those to save up.