Great job with yesterday’s assignment! Let’s keep this momentum going. We’ve been working on noticing our spending while it’s happening. Now we want to shift to begin noticing our spending before it happens. If we can do that, we’ll give ourselves the opportunity to check our budgets before it’s too late.
John, a Goodbudgeting pro, said,
“My Envelope’s balance bar indicates whether I am ahead or behind on the current day of the month, so when I go shopping, I can refer to my cell phone. That allows me to focus on my family’s priorities to find the best value for my dollar at the current time.”
Because John knows how much he has to spend, he can focus on finding products that are within his budget and also work for his family. That’s where we want to be too!
Today’s Assignment
- Notice when you think “I am going to spend.” Today’s task is simple: Notice moments when you think you are going to spend before you swipe your card. That might be when you’re running errands and find yourself in need of coffee. When you notice you’re about spend, consult your budget to make sure there’s enough for the expense.
- What was it like to shift from noticing while you were spending to noticing before you spent? Let us know and the other readers know how that shift was for you by leaving a comment below.
Happy budgeting,
-The Goodbudget Team
28 thoughts on “Notice *Before* You Spend”
It made me more conscious of my laziness… I commute home past a bunch of restaurants and often I’m like let’s just take the day off… then when I actually spend I’m like ugh but at that point I’ve already eaten.
Alex, I like how you used the word conscious. It’s starting to feel more like something I choose to do (or not choose), versus something that is simply happening. More proactive, less reactive!
This is the hard part! I sometimes find that I don’t *want* to look.
I find that’s sometimes true for me too! I think I don’t want to look if I know I’m already close to going over. Do you have a guess why you don’t want to look?
That is one of the point of tracking and logging.
Focus on this feeling and feel the pain, next time remember it when you want to spend it on a bad expense.
This feeling is one the things that can help you from bad spending.
This is a tough one, particularly on busy days! I noticed that I have a tendency to blow off steam by shopping online. On days where I have a little bit more space, I can talk myself out of it just by asking if I really do need to purchase the item or by budgeting for it.
I like being able to know I don’t have to worry about whatever I’m buying because that takes out the enjoyment of it entirely.
I feel that way too, especially during COVID I feel this need to de-stress with a little shopping, it is never much but when it is happening once a week it adds up! Over the past 2 years I have really had to focus on why I am making the purchase and then decide if it actually fits in the budget. It has been hard.
I now drop it in the basket and wait 48hrs before all purchases. By then 99% of time I have forgotten what I was going to buy!!!
And I deleting my shopping apps
Balance bar?
I expulsado like a picture attached to this lesson.
Is it the red/green bar?
What is the black vértice line mean?
Hi Michaelette,
The balance bar is the bar that shows the balance of your Envelopes and Accounts. You can read more about it here: https://goodbudget.com/help/budgeting-with-goodbudget/how-much-left-in-envelope/
Additionally, you can read about the black vertical line here: https://goodbudget.com/help/budgeting-with-goodbudget/black-line/
Hope that helps!
I have been this for years now so it was easy for me.
I found myself in the McDonalds drive thru and I looked at my balance for eating out and it was getting low so I made the decision to get out of the drive thru line and go home instead. Nice to feel like I made a good decision based on what I want to spend in the future.
I noticed I don’t think I’m spending much it’s just $3 for a drink that’s ok I can afford that….. but I do it 3 times a day that’s $9. Wow
Thanks for sharing! It’s amazing how quickly little things add up.
I am so confused with the filling envelopes and the amounts that are shown in each envelope!!!! please help!!
Hi Myriam — sorry for the confusion! I recommend checking out this article (https://goodbudget.com/help/budgeting-with-goodbudget/how-much-left-in-envelope/) to better understand what your Envelopes are telling you. If you have any further questions, please shoot us an email at support@goodbudget.com!
I used to never even look at prices. I would just get stuff without thinking about the price. Now I price everything! I know how much I plan to spend before going into the store and take that amount of cash with me.
Then, I look for the best value. I changed brands of toothpaste. Old brand was over $4. New brand, 88 cents. I scored a years worth of body wash for less than $2.
I used to spend money every day. Now I spend money once week.
Budgets are amazing!!!
It made me More aware of my emotional drinking as in coffe and drinks on the go like sonic and Busch’s
It’s really the convenience of it I guess
Noticing before I spent goes great when I am by my self but it’s a different story when with kids.
Need to keep track on my spending and think about it before buy it
Today I received member magazine from my favorite beauty product store. Opening the pages and scans through the catalog with a lot nice brands and products, I realized how much more I had been spending on them easily before I start budgeting! The key change for me is I will continue buying beauty products, but with more sense of spending, so I will think and choose the most wanted products rather than get everything I like at first glance:)!
I was waiting for my son to finish a class and on a whim I thought about going to get a coffee. But before I did that I thought about the fact that I would be spending money on something I really didn’t need. It was more about habit than what I really needed or even really wanted. Stopping and thinking made me avoid that expense and I grateful.
Guess I’m lucky. I go to work before 6 am and want to head straight home when I clock out at 3. Come home and chill and no money spent.
Because I know my debt is drowning me, I take my meals with me to work and eat what is at home and don’t stop between work & home(5 miles).
I had prebooked a hotel for $200 for just a 1 night stopover. Then after consideration, I realised, I could book something just as convenient for half the price. For a 1 night stopover, all I need is a bed. So I booked the cheaper option and saved $100 just like that.
It has been years since I’ve reviewed my monthly expenses. I’d set up many regular monthly bills to be charged to my credit card automatically. That way I’d never be late paying them. However, I no longer pay the credit card off each month. So now I’m also paying interest on these items.
I’ll contact each payee to switch to auto payments but from my bank account instead. Will also cut our newspaper subscription from 3 days to only Sat. I’d cut our subscription from daily to 3 days, to continue to get the flyers in the Thu paper. But flyers are posted online so don’t need the Thu paper either.
I did cut some subscriptions for streaming apps, and reduced my cable bill, as I stream a lot of tv. Do need to be better at making grocery lists and sticking to it. I tend to add as I go and before long come to checking out and $50 over budget.