Let Your Money Tell A Story

Posted On 2 April 2020

Last updated on April 10th, 2024

Everybody loves a good story! For many people, the story that their money shares with them is like a murder mystery. The common questions are, “Who did it?” and “Where did the money go?” Well, if we have the courage to listen, our money will tell us the story of what is happening with our finances.

Years ago I read about this eye opening money exercise in a personal finance book that I read years ago. The book is The Four Laws of Debt Free Prosperity. have read the book several times and over the years I lent the book out numerous times.

Money Talks

We have heard the saying, “money talks”. There is a lot of confusion about what it says, though. Money convinces people to do things that the person may not want to do. It says that the person with the money is serious about making the deal. Yet, money is a trickster and a distractor!

J. Paul Getty wrote about how he optimized his business. He said that the best time to cut the fat and waste in an operation is when things are going well. A common practice is for people to wait until they have to make cut-backs to actually make those changes. Now, there are Benefits of Financial Adversity. Getty said that if changes are made when things are good, there is less of a chance of cutting out the wrong things. We can also take our time to make the changes.

Write It All Down

The story your money tells is one that is written down. It can’t be an oral story because you will not get the complete story. Every day for a month record every single purchase or financial transaction. It doesn’t matter where it gets recorded. Carry a little notebook. Make a note in your phone. Use a money tracking app. The important thing is that all money spent (and what it is spent on) is written down. At the end of the month add up the amounts in groupings of your choice. Remember, this is the story of your own personal money.

It is important to include everything! Resist the urge to leave out items because they seem dumb or embarrassing. Anything that is left out will change the story. No one but you (and your spouse, if you’re married) will read the story of your money. We must be honest with ourselves in order to improve our finances.

Read Your Money Story

Now, the story can be shocking! When I first did this exercise I was shocked at how much I was spending on soft drinks. It was over 2 decades ago that I started to pay attention to my expenses, so I don’t have the numbers anymore. Let’s say that a bottle of Coke is $2. That doesn’t sound like much, in fact the amount is small enough that it doesn’t even feel like spending. Now, if I purchased 2 bottles per day, that would be closer to what I drank. In the course of a month that would come out to $120 on soft drinks!!

The beauty of this exercise is that each person who does this can see what they are spending money on, and then they can ask themselves if that is what they really want to be doing with their money. There is no one else (unless you’re married!) that can tell you what you should change about your spending. When you have the numbers in front of you, you have the advantage of seeing where your money goes.

Modify Your Money Habits

Now, I didn’t want to stop drinking soft drinks. So, I got me a large refillable mug that I could bring into convenience stores and fill up for a lot cheaper, and since it held a lot more liquid, I found that I only needed one fill-up per day. At 7-Eleven a refill is only $0.79. Even if a refill cost $1, that would change the $120 to $30 per month. I could look at that as a raise of $90 per month, or $.50 per hour (based on full-time employment)!

Do yourself a favor. Start now! This exercise does not have to be a full calendar month. Just 30 days. The sooner you start, the sooner you will have your money’s story, and the sooner you will be in control of your finances!