Track Your Spending Without an App

The dead-simple method to see where your money's actually going

I’ll be honest.

I love using apps, we all do. I use them for communication, entertainment, and to track my finances.

Apps are a great way to be efficient both professionally and personally.

But the truth?

You don’t need another app.
You don’t need to “link your bank”.
You just need a clear view of what’s really happening with your money.

Most people think they have a spending problem.
What they actually have is a visibility problem.

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📄 The No-App Spending Tracker

Here’s how to track your spending in 15 minutes or less — without downloading anything.

1. Open your bank account
   Pull up your checking account or debit card transactions from the last 30 days.

2. Copy them into Google Sheets or on paper
   Make 3 columns:
   - Date
   - Description
   - Amount
   (Total time: ~10 minutes)

3. Sort them into 3 simple categories:
   - Needs (rent, food, bills)
   - Wants (restaurants, Amazon, Target runs where you spend way too much money like me)
   - Other (debt payments, savings)

You’ll start to notice a pattern — and probably one or two surprises.

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📊 Why This Works

You don’t need to track every penny forever.
But tracking for just 30 days gives you a baseline:

• You see leaks.

• You spot habits.

• You finally understand where the stress is coming from.

And most importantly, you’re not guessing anymore.

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🛠️ Want to Take It Further?

You can reuse this method every month, or upgrade it by:

• Color-coding your categories

• Adding totals for each section

• Setting monthly caps for your “Wants” column

Simple > Fancy.
Start with this — tweak it later.

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🔁 Found This Helpful?

Share it with a friend who keeps asking,

“Where does my money go?”