Top 5 Reasons Tracking Spending is Problematic

If you’re a born spender and have never met a credit card you didn’t like, you would benefit from both a detailed budget and the tracking of every penny going out the door.

Personally, I’m more of a born saver. Or maybe I learned to save. The fact is that I somehow became financially independent after about ten years in the post-residency workforce without budgeting or tracking my spending.

Tracking your spending a good way to learn about your habits, though, and I did it for the better part of three years once I started blogging, but the process is not without issues.

Top 5 Reasons Tracking Spending is Problematic

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Speaking of home ownership and messiness, try to keep the Lego confined to one room. Also, how do you categorize costs related to home improvement?

1: When Spending Isn’t Spending

For example, you might remodel a bathroom for $12,000 and expect the renovation to increase the value of the home by $10,000 to $15,000.

The main reason for tracking spending is to get an idea of what your future spending might look like and allow you to determine how much you need to save for retirement.

2: Past Performance May Not Be Indicative of Future Results

If you have a competitive streak in you, once you start keeping score, you pay closer attention to how you’re playing the game. In terms of tracking your spending, this could be a very good thing or a not-so-good thing.

3: The Gamification of Spending

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