Thinking of not tracking expenses anymore

[sinclair]

I've been tracking my expenses for more than four years, ever since reading "Your Money or Your Life." It's been a great exercise and I've learned a few things, but now I'm wondering whether to continue. Anyone tracked expenses for a while and then stopped? Or been tracking for many years and still getting something out of it? I feel like it's becoming more work than I really need to put into it, like I could actually simplify my life by not doing it anymore.

[iris lilies]

OP, you have my permission to not track any more! Go forth, live your life, use the facts that you've obtained for the past 4 years and use tracking time for something fun!

I really do think you've done the best thing: tracked for a good long time. Little new will be revealed to you by continuing to track unless you have a major, life changing event such as new baby or new house or etc.

[Kestra]

Yep, if you're not getting a benefit, no reason to keep doing it. I assume you are tracking by category. I've considered switching from a detailed tracking to just incoming money vs. outgoing money, but for a variety of reasons will continue the detailed method. The biggest reason is just because I am a spreadsheet geek and I enjoy it. I understand it's not enjoyable for everyone.

For me, tracking my current expenses right now is less important than it will be as I get closer to early retirement. That's when the numbers will be more important. I also like that long term tracking will give me a better idea of my personal inflation rate. But just tracking total expenses as a lump sum would do that as well.

[tetrimbath]

I did the whole program, including tracking monthly expenses to the penny, then after a while to the dollar, then - well, you see how it goes. Like folks have said, if you're not getting any more benefit from it don't spend your time. Time, as you know, is more precious.

I only relaxed my monthly tracking after I got my spending aligned with my values, and understood which were the biggest expenses and which were the most negotiable. The lesson is the important thing. The practice is good, and I expect I'd go back to it if I had a radical change in lifestyle (like moving to a new country), but I probably quit about the same time you're thinking of doing so.

Hey, you can always take a month off, and if you find you missed the practice, start back up again.

[ToomuchStuff]

I am still tracking, so my opinion is just that. I only want to add, some expenses should still be tracked, for tax purposes.

[RoseFI]

The point of tracking is mindfulness. I know people who don't track in any noticeable way, and yet they always know, pretty close to exactly, how much money they've spent and made in the last month. So I would still call that tracking. I think that approach is the ultimate in skillful modern living -- but I'm nowhere near there.

Tracking without asking the 3 questions (even informally) can become just rote duty. I think it's important that tracking is used as a tool, not a duty. It's a tool for meeting financial goals (questions 2&3.) Do people stop having financial goals just because they've mastered the art of maximizing fulfillment from their spending (question 1)? I'm always setting new goals.

It's also a tool for being able to recognize shifts that may be subtle, like you did Sinclair, when you moved (though that's not exactly a subtle shift!) A tool for recognizing when someone has ripped me off, or a vendor has changed our arrangement at my expense (pun intended.) "Hey, that auto-payment for my homeowners insurance just got higher, why is that?" Which is super important in these days of automatic banking and identity theft. (Question 1) Plus, inflation DOES happen in some categories, and adjustments need to happen accordingly in others to keep at an even keel.

For me it's an important tool for a gratitude practice (question 2) -- noticing how much flow there is in my life, in my community, etc. I REALLY need that. Sure we demonetize as much as possible, and have a great sharing network, but it's easy to start to take that for granted. We have a goal to make enough money to be able to participate in a vibrant local economy. We also track gifts of money to many friends who have de-monetized to the point of occasional discomfort. E.g. we have a wise older (in years, not in spirit) FI'er, climate activist friend who refuses to fly because of the carbon load, so she takes the train twice a year to visit family. This year we paid for her to get a sleeper train instead of sitting up for two nights (she's almost 80 and it took 3 days for her to recover from her last trip!) It wasn't much money, she's just too hyper-frugal to chose comfort -- but she sure was happy when we insisted. It's the least I can do to support her principles and all she's given us and the community by way of inspiration, leadership, fun...! When I see gifts tracked, I'm reminded of all we've received and how it's just an ever-flowing current. When we're purchasing from people whose work we appreciate, for products/services we think are useful and beneficial, seeing that money flow in and out represents some joyful community participation and decisions we feel good about.

But the big bottom line for me is that I've seen lots of FI'ers stop following one or two steps -- and "steps" are interrelated no matter what method of money management one uses, it's unlikely someone can maintain financial independence without being aware of their money in daily flow and big picture views -- and I've watched their financial situations eventually devolve in ways that increase their financial stress significantly. I don't see that happening with people who use a fearless and sustained approach to money management as a natural part of living an intentional, mindful life. So I follow the latter mentors.

So for me, yes, I occasionally lapse on my sitting meditation practice as well as on my money management practice, but I wouldn't choose to do so as a policy. Not adding more complexity to either than is necessary to get the benefits, and to be motivated to keep on keeping on -- that's a worthy policy I need some support to implement!

PS. I think this thread actually should go in the Financial Integrity section -- any reason why it's here and not there?

[Spartana]

Great post RosieFI!! I don't track anymore myself but did find it extremely useful to align my spending with my values.

[Gregg]

Tracking for us was an exercise to confirm that we were getting the value we wanted from our spending and that we were earning enough to justify what we were spending. Once the routine was a little more established and we had a good handle on income vs. outgo we were comfortable backing off the full chart we used to track every penny. Both of us became comfortable with where we were, mostly because we took steps to insure as many line items as possible were the same every month. For example, our electric company offers budget billing so you have 12 months of steady payments rather than worrying about seasonal fluctuations. The key for us was just to make every month's expenditures as steady as possible. The tracking showed us how to do that and from there we love the freedom of living on autopilot.

[dado potato]

For me, looking at 2013, it is a real eye-opener to see all the expenditures, year-to-date. I see 2 of the biggest 2013 items as being very unlikely to be necessary again in 2014, which gives me a sense of optimism about the new year.

[ljevtich]

Thank you RosieFI for your post. I still track and can figure out what is coming in and out pretty much at any time. I like numbers.