Where is all my money going?
Where is all my money going? Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, baby! You may not think you’re living a rockstar life, but this unique spending analysis will prove otherwise. We challenge you to find out.
Are you constantly running out of money?
If, like us, you’re as fond of your money as Joan Crawford is of coat hangers, it’s time to examine your financial situation. When we analyze our spending over the last 12 months, we find that for most of us, we are “debt-free or broke.”
Like us, you wonder why you make good money, but your life feels boring. You make about the same as your friends, but their life is more *NSYNC and your life is more like 98 degrees. You can’t figure out why you end up with more months left at the end of your money. You feel like you’re doing something wrong, but you don’t know what.
Eyes wide closed
If you have a good job with good benefits and make real money (on paper), but you feel like you’re stuck and can’t keep track of where your money is going, you’re spending money unconsciously.
It’s like having a new can of American Crew hair product. Start by applying it liberally to your hair. When you’re almost out of it, you make it last as long as possible because you hate going to Target to buy more – because you never go to Target to get just one thing.
When we analyzed our spending, we learned how much money we were spending on alcohol and our social life. We went to regular happy hours that lasted longer than an hour. We bought clothes we didn’t need (and couldn’t afford). We ate out regularly, even though the fridge was overflowing and we were spending $400 a week on groceries!
WTH!?
The hell is you don’t know where your money is going. You make good money, but you’re not doing well with it. This is the opposite of money consciousness. Consequently, you watch your checking account reach almost $0 every month and you wonder why your life feels like the theme song Friends and not Golden Girls.
Knowing Joe is only half the battle
You can know Joe. But what’s the point if you don’t do anything with him?
Get access to all your statements, credit cards, investments, checking and debit cards. . . everything. Enter all of your expenses from the last six to 12 months—every single transaction—on the worksheet and find out where all your money is going.
We would like to inform you in advance. This exercise is not difficult, but it takes time. We did this on a weekend when it was rainy and cold outside. We decided to do it for a few hours on Saturday and a few hours on Sunday. When done correctly, this exercise is as insightful as it is time-consuming. You will learn a lot and, in most cases, find many ways to get out of debt.
Where DOES All my money is gone?
Knowing your spending habits will open your eyes wide. If you’re like us, and you are, you’ll notice patterns in your spending. Is all your money going into a few wasteful categories? Does spending in these categories bring you short-term joy rather than rewarding purposeful spending?
This exercise will help you figure out which changes in your spending will have the biggest impact, such as: B. Savings for your debts, car or condo. This may mean you don’t have to overhaul your entire budget. You may have to make compromises in some areas like we did. Above all, we had to forego wine, food and expensive clothing.
The rock star that you are
Knowing where your money is going will keep your Rockstar card from being revoked. That’s the intent of purpose-driven spending: Spend intentionally on what adds value to your life, and you’ll have more value in life.
You can only do this if you know where your money is going.
What should you do?you Do?
Whether you’re in the 50 percent phase—”just put in the tip”—or are 100 percent committed to changing your life, download our spending analysis and see if you, too, are pulling don’t give it your all (or give in). Your financial act (not your legs) together.
By “complete” we mean listing six to twelve months of ALL your expenses. David does this regularly. The first time it took several hours. Now it only takes a few minutes (maybe longer).
We have no doubt that this exercise will fix your problem. So, just do it!