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katakowsj · 2586 days ago · link · · parent · post: Credit Cards Encourage Extra Spending as Cash Habit Fades Away
I'm now realizing the value of a household expenditures spreadsheet. It's just the place my wife and I set up nearly 20 years ago to record our credit card receipts. Every week, or two now usually, we record our credit card receipts by category spent (gas, bar/restaurant, home, car, fun,...) and then try to keep within our typical totals. It was a bunch of time to set up and get used too, but man, does it give that same effect of spending cash, just weekly. It can hit harder on those weeks we may have gone nuts spending, but over the years we've become more disciplined and that doesn't really happen, or it happens for a "good" reason. Like when we spent thousands in a day to repair our home sewer last spring.