Have you looked in the mirror lately?
You’re thinking, “What does my bathroom mirror have to do with budgeting?” Looking at our money habits is a little like looking in the mirror. When we look at our spending, saving, and giving habits, we can see ourselves a bit more clearly. We asked Karisa to take a look at her money mirror, and here’s what she said:“Eww, it’s gross looking at my Spending by Envelope report! When I do it for the whole year and it tells me how much I spent for all of last year, it’s just kind of shocking! It’s like, ‘Whoa, I spent that much money!’ I spent a lot of money on clothing, and that’s kind of controllable. Thinking about how many clothes I have in my closet, I know I don’t need to buy more. I have enough — more than enough. So this is one area where I could significantly cut back if I really want to get serious about paying off my debt this year.”
Okay, now your turn! Look in your money mirror. Don’t worry if you see something gross. You gotta see it first before you can deal with it!
- Take a look at your Spending by Envelope report. (That’s your mirror.)
- What did you notice about your money habits? Do you see anything that’s surprising about your spending, saving, or giving?
- Stop there! There will be plenty of time to change things later. Right now, we’re just taking a peek and assessing the situation.
Tell us what you saw. Comment below!
65 thoughts on “Look in the Mirror”
More than 50% of my spending is toward bills! We also had some maintenance on both of our cars so far this year. Two flat tires in one month! Hm…
When I look in the mirror I see someone who is not as generous as I want to be. It’s a little painful, but thank you Goodbudget for encouraging me to look for ways to be more generous.
I must say I am not happy with what I see
I really need to carb my spending on things that are not important
When I really look at where I’m spending my money, I noticed it’s a lot going to entertainment. I’m purchasing too many movies.
We’re not doing a good job planning for those one-off “big-ish” expenses (a new mattress, hosting that big party…). The cost should be manageable if we spread it out, but currently it blows our out grocery or household envelope in the month it occurs.
Here here on the “one-off big-ish” expenses (e.g. painting contractors, high school band trips, etc) …or maybe they aren’t so one-off. My mirror tells me I anticipate but then underfund the envelopes of those larger planned expenses. I need to be more real about the likely cost of such things and then commit to funding the appropriate amount each and every month. Thanks Goodbudget, you are a superb tool!
Yup! Those one-off expenses are tricky. And you might be right that they’re not so one-off… so it’s good to plan a reasonable amount for them.
I spent about $1800 last month on credit card debt. Half of that was paying down debt, which is good. But half was new/recent charges. Imagine if it all was debt paydown.
Congrats on paying down some debt! We’re looking forward to hearing where this journey takes you.
My spending is on helping my college students. Yep! Parent loans, room and board & etc. Like others i have household bills. If i have extra funds i may purchase clothing, food or other needed items. I want to spend less and pay more so that i can retire. I dont want to work until die.
That I put a double digit percentage toward expenses that were for the benefit of my now ex-bf. We never got to the point of actually having the frank and open discussion about our finances. I thought I was being thoughtful and generous, while stepping outside of my budget. Instead, I was enabling him not to have one.
Oof! Those frank and open discussions can definitely be hard to start. It can be tough to move past the taboo and talk with people we trust.
Our spending is pretty much exactly what we’d expect. The biggest things were new carpet and bed for one of the bedrooms and supporting our son at uni, but on the more everyday expenses front, it was fine. In an ideal world, each envelope would get given just that little bit more, but you can’t spend what you don’t have eh.
I recently had to increase the petrol budget as we were running out of money for that before the end of the month, but in general our system works very well – we have 3 bank accounts; one for bills, one for everyday spending (food, petrol etc.) and one for savings and less frequent spending (house repairs, car servicing, holidays etc.). We use Goodbudget for the latter 2 accounts (the bills one runs itself as it’s all on direct debit) and we find it a very useful tool for keeping track of what we’ve got in each envelope.
‘You can’t spend what you don’t have.’ Yes!
I realize that selecting gifts is a form of entertainment for me and have now considered larger projects to which I would like that money to be spent.
I see the blessing of spending many years trying to do well with our finances. We didn’t start out well in this area in our marriage. But now I see giving, saving, only a mortgage, and better attitudes toward our funds. All glory To God! Goodbudget has been a KEY factor in regards to the tools I use every single day to keep up with our budget. Appreciate it and recommend it often!!
Wow, what a great testimony! We rejoice with you.
You guys have helped me to pay thousands off my mortgage in the past 18 months. I had literally no idea where my money was going! Now I religiously list every bill and particle of spending.
Thank you so much 🙂
Too much on hobbies and not enough planning
I spend a lot of money on items for my home. I like my home to be comfortable and organized. But I am sure that I do a better job in this area. I don’t like the size of my spending in bank fees (NSF’s or transfer fees), and I don’t like my eating out habits. I don’t enjoy eating out; I do it because I haven’t planned lunch or dinner. If I could drop the fees and the unnecessary eating out, I would have more to spend on what I want to spend money on, like donations and helping family members out.
Most of my income is spent on bills and debt- feels like I will never get out from under it all!
I am working partirme, some goes to savings and the rest goes to pay some of our home bills and expenses. When I want to get something that I want, I am not able to. I want to be able to get what I want financially and not be in more debt.. Since I depend on on my husband pensions for the majority of our income, find I am taking in more part time work to make some of my wishes come true.
I was once told that you never make money made from a part-time job part of your salary income. Because you become dependent on that money and if something happens to the extra money you were depending on to pay bills etc., the struggle is more difficult. When I worked part-time I had automatic deposit and the money was only touched if there was something special I wanted to do like take a trip or buy myself a nice outfit for an affair. That way, I always had some money to treat myself on occasion without incurring more debt.
I’m spending on things that aren’t essential.
There were some expected overspending towards credit card debt. However, looking at the detail I was shocked to find out how much eating out was happening! I’ve calculated $1,200 for last month! With Goodbudget I’m hoping to get a handle on this unnecessary spending.
There were some expected overspending towards credit card debt. However, looking at the detail I was shocked to find out how much eating out was happening! I’ve calculated $1,200 for last month! With Goodbudget I’m hoping to get a handle on this unnecessary spending.
I have always been good with managing my budget without a method….. and then I got Goodbudget and seen where exactly all that money is going and it’s going towards eating out!! My mirror showed me how “fat and careless” I was with my money. I started budgeting $200 a month for myself and my family of 5 towards eating out and the past 2 months I’ve been banking that and saving $200 instead of eating it away!
When I look I see too much eating out and bills
We’re spending a lot on groceries and eating out
My biggest “bad habit” flaw is starting a budget and working on it; thus far it’s been on another budgeting program – give every dollar a job slogan. But, I get bored of said program and google others. It’s as if I’m looking for the perfect one; the ones that meet my idea (re: needs) of a perfect one. It’s a vicious cycle. The areas where I spend money I don’t have is at Amazon. I read a lot and watch very little of the telly. I have numerous books on my Kindle, many of which I’ve read already. I rarely ever eat out, but do buy a frozen meal for my lunch at work. That’s another big expense. Have to work on bringing lunch from home. Baby steps!
I was also using the “Give Every Dollar a Job” slogan program until they doubled my price on an already stretched to the max budget.
Well for me my envelops were cleared in like the first week of November which means that what I budgeted for each envelop I’ve already used and that basically means I can’t buy any more groceries or use any more money for transport which is kind of impossible
Most of my spending is rent! SMH!
I’m finding that the little stuff adds up in a hurry. I think, “oh, this isn’t much”. And then wonder where all the money went.
I see me spending money on stuff I don’t need and lending to much money to family. I’ve learnt no to impulse buy, be pushed into buying and set up sub accounts for things ( my envelope method)
I am not consistent with my spending and savings. I do really well an then fall off track and it spirals from month to month.
I live my life as if I am going to win the lottery………….. yet I don’t even buy tickets. I need to force myself to realize that I can have all my “wants” if I budget and exercise self discipline.
It reminds me that money is tight, some necessary things are expensive and that budgeting is a good way to keep a handle on it all!
I spend a lot of groceries and personal care. It’s midway through the month, so its a good check to see where my money has been going lately.
I spend entirely to much on eating out and snack foods.
I’m looking forward to having our small RV paid off (a tax deductible Heloc). We pay $300/ week to it so as to reduce the interest fast. Because of the contract/points discount we got, we can’t pay it off till this July. However, July is right around the corner, then we’re debt free again!
I’m happy with my spending in most categories. I did find several irregular expenses that I need to plan for better – like vet bills and unusual travel expenses.
My big failure was dining out – that is the one area where I consistently go over budget. I have my budget set where I want it, so now I have to learn to live with it! It’s a double whammy, because I buy groceries that I don’t get around to eating.
Looking at my spending, most of it goes to paying off debt and paying bills. Not much saving or giving. On the other hand, not much on clothes or fun either. Since I started using Goodbudget, I think I made quite a reasonable budget and actually managed to live by it. There is always room for improvement, so, will do that
I have been at this for a while. I am always looking for ways to better manage my money and make wiser spending choices without making it an obsession. When I look in the mirror, I see a 73 years female who has had her share of financial ups and downs. I see someone who is constantly exploring more ways to learn from the experiences she’s had to find out what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve been to the financial school of hard knocks. I’ve been through bankruptcy, I’ve had terrible credit, and although my credit score is 820 now, I feel, it can be better. My envelopes are on the computer. I use PNC to establish a reserve, for short term financial needs that come every 6 months; like car insurance and property taxes and growth, for longer-term financial needs for things like a down payment on a car, or a major repair to the house. I have struggled to set aside 58% of my income for a variety of planned and unplanned expenses, and savings. However, I am always open to trying something better.
Well I started doing cash envelopes last December I be doing good for awhile saving but all gone next month and I have to start over again I have a credit card bill for $3,000 which I’m trying to pay off then I have Telus mobile bill $2,000 it’s hard trying to pay off with little income $1,000 rent $665 cable $200 hydro $65 not much left after having a hard time looking for a good job can’t find any
When i went over the spending for the year, most of my spending was on Incidentals envelope and grocery envelope. I used my credit card for a few large ticket items, so I am paying large payments on that right now to back my credit card down to a trickle again. Overall I could curb my insidental spending and tighten my grocery budget up. Compared to years past, my spending is really good right now.
Iris johnson 1_20_21. To much giving to others
I’m still learning on good budget thank for teaching us,new things that I never valued in my life.
I have been budgeting with a different app, so I didn’t see any surprises.
I wasn’t a good steward in my younger years and now I’m 80 years old and living on social security. With all of the high medical and dental bills it’s a struggle to keep up.
Hey, Dave! Thanks for sharing a little about your budgeting journey with us! We hope this course helps you keep up.
I spent highest on my hobbies despite the needed cost, which I didn’t aware of before. It help me to realize how much happiness they bring and also as my interest continues, I plan to do more and of course spend more.
So I start to think the other envelope that I can squeeze;)
The last finding: I am proud that I commit to the giving portion as I planned, and even when I need more money for my habit, I won’t touch the donation envelope.
Thanks for helping me visulize my spending habit and being able to reflect on it!
When I look at my spending I see that we spend more money going out to eat then the groceries we buy each week.
I see that I need to cut back on my small “treat” purchases (energy drinks, snacks, etc), because they do add up! I also need to control impulse spending on non essentials.
I’ve only been doing GoodBudget for a full month, and it has made me more conscientious about the way I spend money. I always think, “How much money do I have to spend on this purchase?” I’m only beginning my journey, so I haven’t yet developed a patterns.
After I checked my Spending by Envelope report, I can see that I have been spending a lot on some things that I don’t even need. Now I must make sure not to spend too much on these things.
I am spending mainly bills and the household, but I know I’m a giver and love to give gifts or just spend on things I really do not need! So, I need to do better on that.
I’ve got to figure out how I can work and make money again
Yikes. Spent double my income this month. Although to be fair this included annual tax bills and new apartment down-payment. But Still, i need a lie-down.