I've done this exercise before, you know, being a money writer and all. But I've never done it in public, nor have I chronicled my thoughts during the process.
It's different. The one thing that struck me the other day, after tallying up the $217--or was it $271?--anyway, one of the most valuable aspects of spending tracking is getting a whole new perspective on your way of life. We don't spend in isolation, right? We live a sort of life that includes or is based on a certain pattern of money usage.
For example, we have one view of our financial selves and behavior that we carry around in our minds with all the other self-definitions: I'm smart, I'm a pretty good mom most of the time, I don't spend that much on myself anymore, we're pretty good savers now, I should probably floss more often, etc.
But the person you believe you are could turn out to be quite different from your Real Financial Self. I found myself saying, "I don't really go out to lunch"...but in fact--I WENT OUT TO LUNCH. you know what i mean? People who genuinely don't go out to lunch would have said to their friend, "I'll meet you for a coffee." But I said, Sure! Because life is dull and it's January--but then I spent $19 (because we got dessert too) AND i bought my husband a hat and my son a shirt. On sale, but still.
See, that's the other thing: Once you start spending, it's harder to stop. It's called the "shopping momentum effect," if you can believe it, and actual academics at Yale (yes, Yale) have studied it. Let's all go to Yale. I could do a killer research paper on the Makeup Acquisition Complex.
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I actually laughed out loud (all alone in my office) after reading your last paragraph!
"See, that's the other thing: Once you start spending, it's harder to stop. It's called the "shopping momentum effect," if you can believe it, and actual academics at Yale (yes, Yale) have studied it. Let's all go to Yale. I could do a killer research paper on the Makeup Acquisition Complex."
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