A couple years back, I got interested in the ideas of voluntary simplicity and the downshifted lifestyle. My readings eventually sent me on a side-trail to the book Your Money or Your Life. Since then, about 14 months ago, I’ve been tracking every cent I spend on everything. Usually if I have any receipts when I get home, I place them on my desk and take care of those every day or two. Any bills I pay get recorded that same day. At the end of each month, I’ll add it all up, sort it, categorize it, graph it, and see how I’m doing. Really.
It’s made a huge difference for me. Not only does it appeal to my Excel-loving nerd streak, but it helps me keep my wallet plump. But even more important than saving money, I create a whole new level of awareness. I used to blow all sorts of wad on thrift store clothing–it’s cheap, right? Or then there’s the $75 I lost all those times when I kept forgetting to buy groceries and had to buy my lunch at work. Pennies add up to dollars. The anal-retentive tracking gives me clear answers to the “Where did it all go?” question.
It’s a matter of perspective. I can answer, with authority, how much I work to pay for my car-related expenses. I can know exactly how much I have spent on social outings. I can tell how much I’ve been buying impulsively . Basically, I can determine if I’ve been spending according to what I value–and that sort of conscious living is so important to me.
Another side benefit is the geeky historical perspective. I’ve kept some metadata on some purchases like gasoline–gallons purchased, cost per gallon, total cost, day of the week, etc. It’s kind of cool to look back and see the ebb and flow in gas prices I paid: 
. So maybe it’s not really all that practical, but it’s cool for curiosity’s sake.
But from all the data I can also get more useful information, such as learning that I can buy the cheapest gas during the first half of the week. There’s a bit of bias in the graph because I ended up buying a lot of Wednesday and Thursday gas during the recent spike, but the general trends are accurate.
There’s also some personality that comes out in the numbers. Not that I needed it, but I’ve got the data to prove that I like books more than music: 
. As the bars on top indicate, I spend a pretty steady amount for books. There are some spikes here and there, but still a more regular baseline. Note that the book figures do not include all the stuff I bring back from the library, which would help even out that data even more. On the bottom side, you can see that music shopping is really more of an irregular binge thing.
Novelties aside, there is a lot to learn from this sort of exercise. I’m really glad I started doing this, and at this point I can’t really imagine not continuing. Once I developed a system to keep the records, it’s like clockwork. And when I can put it all down in ink… there’s a sort of calm satisfaction to have at least one part of my life in order.
Mark Larson 