Improving Your Relationship with Money: The Importance of Tracking and Reviewing Your Finances

How much time do you spend worrying about your finances? How much time do you spend reviewing them?

I frequently hear the answers to these questions as: “constantly” and “none”, respectively. For so many, avoiding working on their finances feels like a safer option than digging in and looking at what’s going on. The result of the avoidance though, is an ongoing fear. Without knowing what we’re doing with our money, it remains obscure, scary, and intimidating. So, instead of spending a few minutes once or twice a week, you might spend hours worrying or thinking about your money every day.

How can you foster a better relationship with your money? One that feels less scary and where you don’t want to hide under the covers? Start with tracking your expenses. Don’t simply use an app for this – do it manually. Look through all your methods of spending (credit and debit card statements, venmo/paypal/zelle), and write down everything you spend money on. Do this for a few months and get really clear on where your money is going.

While this seems simple, this little time with your money will bring awareness to your relationship with it. You will be able to answer the questions: what do I spend my money on? Do I spend less than I earn? Do I spend in alignment with my values? Do I spend in alignment with my goals? What about spending money makes me feel uncomfortable? What feels like emergencies? What feels unexpected? What feels good? Is there anything I don’t want to spend money on?

In your calendar, schedule a 30-minute block of time every week. When the time comes, set a timer for thirty minutes. For those thirty minutes, go through your spending for the week. If, when the timer stops, you are still grooving, keep going. If you are saying “thank god!” when the timer goes off, stop. You still did the work and you can give yourself grace knowing that you will have another opportunity to try next week.

Do this for just 12 weeks and tell me how you feel at the end of it!