I finally looked at my bank statement from last month and felt sick

I always thought I was fine with money because I paid my bills, but I was spending over $300 a month on random fast food and coffee without even noticing. The tip-off was seeing a charge for a burger place I didn't even remember going to. I sat down and wrote it all out, and the total was just shocking. Has anyone else had that moment where seeing the actual number made you stop a bad habit cold?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_clark15d ago

Man, that's brutal. Did you start tracking every single purchase after that?

torres.drew15d ago

My own coffee habit looked like a second rent payment when I finally added it up. @james_clark has the right idea about tracking every little thing, because you don't notice the leak until you're ankle-deep. Seeing the total is the only thing that finally got me to brew my own.