Track Your Spending

Run the upgrade.

1. 01

   Choose one tracking method and commit to it

   Pick either a spreadsheet, a budgeting app, or your bank's built-in categorization tool — using more than one system in parallel causes abandonment.

2. 02

   Define 8-12 spending categories

   Create categories specific enough to be useful (groceries, dining out, transport, subscriptions) but not so granular that entry becomes tedious.

3. 03

   Import or enter the last month's transactions

   Pull the prior month's statements into your tool and categorize every transaction to establish a baseline before tracking forward in real time.

4. 04

   Total spending by category

   Sum each category for the month and compare it against what you assumed you were spending — most discrepancies show up in dining, subscriptions, or one-off purchases.

   Category total = sum of all transactions tagged to that category

5. 05

   Set a weekly categorization habit

   Block a fixed 10-15 minute slot each week to categorize new transactions so the data never falls more than a week behind.

6. 06

   Identify your top 3 categories by spend

   Rank categories by total dollars spent and flag the top three as the ones most worth reviewing for potential reduction.