There are only two types of transactions.

1. The ones you are present for.
2. The ones you are not.

This just dawned on me. It’s easy to keep track of the spending you are present for (groceries, shopping, fun). It’s hard to keep track of the ones that happen in the background (rent, insurance, subscriptions). Even harder to try and manage both in your head!

Ideally, you have a tool that tracks all background transactions for the month/pay-period and gives you the total. Subtract that from your income and you have the only number you need to keep track of. The amount you are able to spend in-person. Type #1.

Income - Background Transactions = Remaining for In-Person Transactions

Remember when you were a kid and got 40 bucks? It was easy to keep track of it because there were no background transactions on that $40. You were present for every transaction. We’ve got to get back to that.