I’ve never been one to track my spending.
Let me clarify: I’ve never been one to track my spending in precise detail.
In fact, our budget is designed in a way that makes it possible to avoid doing so; after all the bills are paid, I have a line that I call miscellaneous which is how we pay for more variable expenses, like gas and food (I wrote more about that here, if you’re curious about how our budget works).
It’s definitely not zero-based budgeting, but it has been working for us/
However, the further along we go in our debt-free journey, the more I have found myself asking the big question:
Where, exactly, is all our money even going?!
Our budget gives a good sense of the answer to that question, but I wanted more details.
So in November, I embarked on what I called tracktember – a full month of tracking all my spending. You can read more about the parameters of the exercise here.
Today, I am following up on the promise to report back on how it went.
Spoiler alert: it went OK.
The breakdown: How did I spend money in November
To begin, I thought it would be a good idea to present some numbers to show how I spent money in November. I considered listing every single transaction…but realized pretty quickly that would be oh, so boring.
I do have a story on Instagram (you can check it out here) which lays out all the spending line by line, but for the purpose of this blog, here’s the recap.
Please note: while this recap accounts for pretty near all the spending that took place in our household in November, it does NOT include any of Jeff’s spending OR any payments we made to debt. I thought about including it, but what I wanted to understand through this exercise is where the money we designated in a less rigid manner. Does that make sense? I hope it makes sense.
Reflections from a month of tracking
Reflecting on the experience over the last several weeks, there are a few things I think are worth noting.
The most significant one is simple: November was a weird month to choose for this exercise, in that I don’t think the data presents an accurate picture of my average spending. Consider the examples below of areas where my spending was a little higher than normal.
Gifts
I spent a lot of money on gifts in November…which makes sense, because I did a lot of Christmas shopping in November.
Although I do some shopping throughout the year, I tend to the bulk of it in the fall. November 2018 saw me purchase most of our more pricey Christmas gifts, largely due to sales on and around Black Friday.
What’s important to note about money for Christmas gifts: we save throughout the year using a sinking fund. Unfamiliar with the concept? Check out this post where I break down what sinking funds are and how we use them. Essentially, this is how we managed to spend more than we made in November. Average gift spending per month is significantly less than we spent in November.
Takeout coffee
It is fair to say I have been way out of my routine re: my takeout coffee consumption over the last few months.
Typically, I aim to keep it to one, occasionally two, trips to Starbucks a week.
That…did not happen in November. At all.
But, much like the gift line, there is a reason for this: in November, I participated in NaNoWriMo! For those who are not familiar, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50K word book in 30 days.
I started a NaNo project in 2017, got about 25K into the story…and then stopped. I like to say it was because I was busy and couldn’t find the time to get the words in but I know that’s only partially true.
Sure, I work a full-time job and spend time volunteering, but if I wanted to write, I could have found the time. In 2017, I chose not to – and that’s OK.
Coming in NaNo 2018, I was determined to see the project through – and I did! I hit 50K words on November 27 and finished a (very rough) first draft on November 30.
What does this have to do with takeout coffee?
The main reason I was able to successfully complete NaNoWriMo this year is that I wrote every day. And while I can write at home, my favourite way to really focus on getting the words down is to take my laptop and leave the house.
So…the Starbucks bill for November was abnormally high. December was a little higher than I like, too, but I anticipate things will return to normal in the new year.
One-off purchases
We bought a few things in November that we don’t spend on normally. A few noteworthy examples:
My new wedding band: I’m planning to write more about this at some point, but obviously this is not an item we purchase regularly.
Costco membership renewal: This is an annual spend, which means I should likely establish a sinking fund for it. We like Costco for cat litter, spinach, cheese strings, toilet paper/paper towel and the photo lab.
Operation Christmas Child: We contributed to the campaign at our church this year.
Sephora VIB Sale: I stocked up on some hair products during the 20 per cent off event. This was how I ended up reaching VIB Rouge this year. All of this came out of my own saved cash.
Reitman’s Black Friday Sale: Again, this came out of my savings.
Tracktember: What I learned
There were three key takeaways from the experience of tracking my spending for the entire month.
I did well…when I wrote it down immediately
The sooner I noted a purchase, the more successful I was in sticking to the process. My tracking was less than ideal toward the end of the month and I think a lot of it had to do with not jotting it down immediately.
Keeping my spending in my Instagram story helped, but again, only when I was consistent about taking a photo or writing a note to add it.
I am not as impulsive with my spending as I think I am
I did shop a couple sales and make one fairly significant purchase (my ring) but for the most part, I actually do a pretty good job at keeping my spending in check. While I’m sure knowing I had to write it down helped, I don’t think that is the only reason for this behaviour. The older I get and the further along I go on this journey, the less I find myself wanting. This is likely a good thing.
The results weren’t all that surprising
When I sat down to tally it all up, it made sense. The only things that seemed weird or out of place had reasons for being that way and I didn’t really see any big areas to adjust. Of course, this could be more the result of the timing and length of this exercise.
What’s next?
Branching off that last point, I do think one of the biggest reasons I didn’t see a lot of areas for improvement relates to the small window of measurement. Thirty days is not a long period of time – especially during a month where I expect my spending to be a little abnormal.
For 2019, I’m going to make an effort to track as much as I can. I don’t anticipate I’ll be perfect at it – and who knows, maybe I would benefit from some sort of automated service, like Mint – but I suspect if I can make a habit to tracking regularly, I’ll have an even better idea of just how we are spending money.
That’s the plan. I’m cautiously optimistic about it – and will report back on how it turns out.
Final Thoughts
Tracking my spending for the month of November was an interesting experience. Although the results were not surprising, I think knowing I had to write it down helped me be more disciplined and intentional with my spending, which is always a good thing. I’m looking forward to continuing this in the new year.
Do you track your spending? What’s your favourite way to keep track?
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