I tracked every dollar I spent for a week — and realized my laziness cost me a lot of money

Katie Warren/INSIDER

If you want to be better with money, the first thing financial planners will tell you to do is start tracking your spending.

"Without even changing your behavior, if you just start to watch it and pay attention to where your money goes every month, you'd be amazed at how likely you are to pull back on spending," certified financial planner Lauren Lyons Cole told Business Insider.

In a baby-step effort to be better with money, I decided to challenge myself to keep track of every single cent I spent for a week. As a (thankfully paid) intern living in New York City, I have to be pretty money-conscious, so I figured I was up to the task and wouldn't be too shocked by the results.

Over the course of seven days, I wrote down each purchase I made in my phone's notepad app, and at the end of the week I checked my transactions online to verify that I hadn't missed anything. I rarely use cash, so it was pretty easy to keep track.

Here's what happened. 

I started my experiment on a Friday, and I restrained myself from blowing money on after-work drinks.

Katie Warren/INSIDER

My experiment started on Friday, a day often devoted to drinking away the stress of the week at happy hour. But I actually managed to keep my spending in check. When I got to work, I ate oatmeal with a banana and raisins — all of which are provided at my office. I also brought a lunch from home, saving more money.

I thought I wouldn't spend any money at all this day, but on the way home, I decided to treat myself to a bottle of red wine. I drank a glass later (OK fine, maybe two glasses) along with some pasta I made. $11.76

My boyfriend, who I recently moved in with, was out to dinner with a friend and instead of making plans to go out in the rainy weather, I decided to have a chill night at home to read and be alone. My introverted self needed the time to recharge, and as an added bonus, my bank account stayed afloat. 

Daily total: $11.76

Saturday was a rainy day and I didn't leave my apartment — but my boyfriend and I ordered sushi.

Wikimedia Commons

It rained all day on Saturday, so my boyfriend and I spent the day lying around and catching up on "Westworld." There was food in the fridge, so we cooked both breakfast and lunch at home.

We ordered a gigantic, family-sized sushi platter for dinner because, well, I have no excuse. We did not finish it all (although we came disturbingly close), but we did finish off the bottle of red wine I bought the day before.

My boyfriend paid for the sushi. As I write this, I realize I forgot to Venmo him for my half. I'll ask him how much it was, but he'll probably tell me not to worry about it.

Daily total: $0

I spent the most money on Sunday, some of it on groceries but most on afternoon drinks.

Katie Warren/INSIDER

Looking back, this was definitely my splurge day. 

My boyfriend and I cooked a late breakfast at home and then walked to the supermarket to buy bagels, eggs, avocados, apples, asparagus, bananas, and other groceries for the week. My boyfriend paid with his debit card and I reimbursed him for my half on Venmo. $25

We didn't need to buy as much food for the week as we usually do, because we had a few different containers of homemade curry in the fridge that my boyfriend's mom sent home with him the last time he visited.

It was a beautiful, hot day, so later in the afternoon we went to a bar in Bushwick that had a bunch of cocktails on tap. We each got two $6 cocktails (gotta love a good happy hour deal) and my boyfriend paid with his card.

After that, we went to check out a new cider house in the neighborhood. I got a cider and he got a flight of several options to taste. I paid for this round. $22.01

We walked down the street to another bar, where we each got a drink and split a burger. It was cash-only, so I pulled $60 out of the ATM — and I had to pay a $1.99 fee to do it. Ugh. 

I forgot exactly how much the drinks and food cost, which is why I usually avoid paying with cash, but I believe it was about $35 including cash and tip. $36.99

Daily Total: $84

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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