u/Ok-Resolve1877

Before you panic, this is just my opinion... but I'm a professional and you should take me very seriously ;)

I'll start by saying that I've been tracking my expenses for about 6 years, and financially, it completely changed my life.

Ever since then, I've been obsessed with personal finance. I did it all: YouTube videos, finance books, blog posts, budgeting tips, money podcasts, you name it.

If it had anything to do with managing money, I was interested.

Over those 6 years, one thing has become incredibly clear to me: why people struggle to stick to a budget, or take control of their finances in the first place.

To start, here are some basic observations I made:

1. What people spend on and what people THINK they spend on are entirely different.
2. People do not understand the difference between "Budgeting" and "Tracking"

So to break it down. When people finally have their breaking point, or the moment where they decide to take control of their finances, they often make the mistake of saying "I'm going to start a budget"

ERRHH WRONG!

Back to point number 1, people have no idea what they ACTUALLY spend, so "creating a budget" will always miss the mark to where the control is required. It also skips past the "diagnosis" stage, and just goes straight into "treatment".

Six years ago I had my own 'what the heck is going on with my money?' moment. I opened my banking app, tracked every expense from the previous month, and the shock I felt is what kept me tracking ever since..

The step I think most people skip is TRACKING their spending first, and my recommendation, is retroactively tracking at least 1-3 months of spending.

Personally, I ended up tracking the prior 12 months because I couldn't believe what I was actually seeing.

And that brings be back to point number 2!

Tracking vs Budgeting.

To this day, I have never created a budget. From that moment, all I did was simply track my expenses, and slowly refined my spending habits as time went on. I whole heartedly believe, if you're tracking your spending, and just being AWARE of where your money is going, your spending behaviours will naturally evolve.

Here was my experience tracking:

The day I opened my laptop, and tracked the last month of spending, I realized I had spent more money than I'd ever be willing to share on "dining out". I couldn't accept the amount I actually spent on restaurants and fast food.

The thing was, I didn't even particularly care all that much about eating out. It had just become one of those subconscious habits.

Meeting up with friends? Let's grab lunch.
Someone wanted to hang out? Let's go for dinner.
Weekend? Brunch.
After work? Let's grab a bite.

It was just my default.

But when I saw what that habit was actually costing me every month, my whole perception of dining out changed.

What happened next? I switched to coffee shops, going for walks, hanging out at a park. The difference? none. I didn't "sacrifice" anything, i just realized what it was costing me, and my habits changed.

The point I'm trying to make is this:

I think people struggle with budgeting because they start with "Category Limits" before gaining an understanding of their subconscious spending.

Then they inevitably go over, get discouraged, and convince themselves they're just "not good at budgeting" or don't have the discipline to stick with it.

Tracking doesn't involve sticking to something, it's lifting the veil on your spending.

I think we've reached a point where people believe controlling their spending means limiting their spending, when in reality, it starts with learning their spending.

Track first. Learn your habits. Then decide what actually needs to change.

I'm curious if anyone else thinks this way, or if you think I'm completely off.

For those of you who successfully manage your money today, what came first? Tracking your spending... or creating a budget?

I've been tracking my spending for about 6 years now, and I actually started with a self-made spreadsheet. I used that spreadsheet for roughly 5 years and honestly, I wouldn't have had it any other way when I started.

So this isn't a "spreadsheets are bad" post. They worked extremely well for me.

My setup was pretty simple:

• Monthly fixed bills
• Variable/personal spending
• Income
• Net savings calculation

I wasn't doing anything crazy. I mainly wanted to know:

"How much am I spending in different areas, and how much am I actually saving each month?"

The reason I think spreadsheets worked for me is because I knew how to build something that matched the way I wanted to think about money.

But over time I started noticing some downsides.

The first is setup.

If you're comfortable with Excel or Google Sheets, building something for yourself can be great. But if you're new to budgeting, creating a spreadsheet from scratch can feel like work before you even begin budgeting.

The alternative is downloading someone else's spreadsheet, but I often found those to be:

• overly complicated
• designed around someone else's system
• difficult to learn

The bigger issue for me was consistency.

With a spreadsheet, I had to sit down at my computer and enter transactions later. That usually meant going through my bank statements or transaction history and trying to remember what I spent money on.

And if you're someone who only has short bursts of motivation to track spending, that timing can matter a lot.

Eventually I switched to using an app.

The biggest difference wasn't dashboards or analytics.

It was simply that my phone was always in my pocket.

Buy coffee → track it.

Fill up gas → track it.

Buy groceries → Already tracked before the clerk gave me my receipt.

For me, the habit became:

"Just get the expense in."

I can review reports, budgets, and trends later.

Curious what everyone else uses:

Spreadsheet, app, both, or something else?

And why does that approach work better for you?

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