Went to a free financial workshop at the library and walked out shook

I stopped by that free money talk at the library on Tuesday thinking it'd be basic stuff. But the lady running it pulled up her phone and showed me how she tracks every single dollar for her family of 5 using just a notes app. She said they paid off $34,000 in credit card debt in 18 months by doing that and cutting one streaming service. Has anyone else had luck with just a simple tracking method instead of those paid apps?

3 comments

3 Comments

margareto2622d ago

That part about the notes app for a family of five really got me. It's so easy to think you need some fancy app or software to get your money right. But honestly, a simple list in a notes app is all most of us need, you know? My husband and I did something similar with a spiral notebook a few years back. We paid off a car loan in 14 months just by writing down where every dollar went. It's amazing how just seeing it all in one place makes you stop wasting money on stuff you don't really need.

wade87122d ago

That part about "just seeing it all in one place" is the real secret, honestly. We did the same thing with a plain old spreadsheet (not even fancy, just columns and rows) and it totally changed how we buy groceries. I was shocked at how much we were blowing on takeout coffee once I actually wrote it down. It's boring but it works better than any app I've tried.

sandra_bennett5922d ago

The same thing happened with my meal planning. Tried all those fancy apps that sync with your grocery store and suggest recipes based on what's on sale. Ended up just using a sticky note on the fridge. It's like we all got convinced we need technology to solve problems our own eyes and a piece of paper can handle way faster. Reminds me of our grandparents who balanced checkbooks by hand and somehow never missed a payment.