They Spent 4 Months Tracking Every Dollar And Somehow They're Still Broke. 'Thought I'd Find The Problem'
They Spent 4 Months Tracking Every Dollar And Somehow They're Still Broke. 'Thought I'd Find The Problem'
Adrian VolenikFri, January 30, 2026 at 4:01 AM UTC
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Earning a decent salary doesn’t always guarantee financial stability. One Reddit user brought that reality into focus when they revealed that, despite making $68,000 a year, they were still living paycheck to paycheck.
Tracking Everything But Still Bleeding Cash
“I make $68k. Live alone. No kids. No debt besides my car payment,” the original poster wrote on r/SavingMoney recently. “Should have money left over every month but my checking account is always sitting at like $400 by the time I get paid again.”
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They started tracking every expense back in September, groceries, gasoline, subscriptions, everything, in a spreadsheet. But after four months of analysis, nothing obvious stood out and they were “somehow still broke.” “Thought I’d find the problem,” they said. “Didn’t find anything obvious. Just normal spending.” Frustrated, they loaded everything into a personal finance app. The result? Eye-opening.
Turns out they were overspending by about $150 a month—slowly draining their savings without even realizing it. Grocery costs alone hit $380 per month for just one person. “Didn't realize it was that high because I go to the store like 3-4 times a week and it's always $40-60 each time so it doesn't feel like much,” they wrote.
Another major culprit: $89 a month in subscriptions and a gym membership they hadn't used since October.
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From Spreadsheets To Smarter Spending
After seeing the breakdown, they canceled unused subscriptions and started grocery shopping just once a week with a list. “It's been two weeks and my account actually has more money in it than usual.”
While some focused on whether the story added up, others related deeply. “I tracked EVERYTHING beginning 1/2025, it was eye opening,” one commenter said. Another added, “Tracking tells you what you spend on, not how to stop spending.”
Several commenters stressed that tracking isn't the same as budgeting. “Your problem is you don't have a budget,” one said. “Tracking it means understanding where your money is going in comparison to where you want it to go.”
Popular Tools And Hard Truths
Many suggested tried-and-true apps like YNAB, Monarch Money, Rocket Money, and Copilot. But some swore by simple spreadsheets. “Apps just auto-categorize in the background… manually managing your spreadsheets really forces you to be conscious about every single thing you spend on,” a user explained.
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One recurring piece of advice? Treat savings like a monthly bill. Pay yourself first and move that money out of reach. Others suggested using separate accounts or even prepaid grocery cards to curb impulse spending.
Zooming Out: Long-Term Financial Access
What this post highlights is something bigger than just poor budgeting; it's about access, awareness, and behavior. Tools like budgeting apps can help, but so can opportunities that weren't available to everyday people just a few years ago.
Take venture capital, for example. For decades, it was only available to the ultra-wealthy or institutional investors. That's where the early bets on future giants like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) or Google were placed, long before their IPOs made headlines. Most people were shut out.
That changed when Fundrise launched its venture capital product with one mission: open the doors to private tech investing. With low minimums and a long-term approach, Fundrise gives everyday investors access to promising private companies. You can start investing in minutes with as little as $10.
Read Next: From Moxy Hotels to $12B in Real Estate — The Firm Behind NYC's Trendiest Properties Is Letting Individual Investors In.
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