Spending is Behavior

Our behavior is the result of the decisions we make (and, sometimes, the result of not thinking enough about those decisions). Spending decisions can be made quickly, and when we don't give them enough thought, the results can derail our money plans.

This could range from not having enough in our checking account to cover other spending needs to not being able to save enough for a down payment, for a vacation or for our retirement (or all three).

Spending is a Constant

We have to spend throughout our lives in order to function. No matter how little--or how much--we make, we need to align our spending decisions with our money goals.

When we are just starting out, spending decisions can be scary--especially the first time we get hit with an overdraft charge from our bank.

Later, spending mistakes get bigger. More money to spend means we have more spending decisions to make, and each decision involves more money, so our decisions turn into (or consume) real money.

Spending Adds Up

As the years pass, the cumulative results of our spending decisions are dramatic:

Spending is a Habit

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines "habit" as "something that you do often and regularly, sometimes without knowing that you are doing it."  When I realize I have overspent (which is more often than I would like), the "without knowing you are doing it" part of the definition rings painfully true. That's the bad news.

The good news is that we can build better habits. Lots of very smart people have spent their lives figuring out how to break bad habits and build better habits, so we will take advantage of their wisdom to build better spending habits. 

When Budgets Don't Work

You may be thinking "Why don't you just use a budget? There are many budgeting tools out there." This is true. Budgets are that "money plan" I mentioned above.

But plans don't always drive behavior; that's our core issue. If you are a person who flawlessly adheres to a budget, congratulations! (You can stop reading now.)

If you are like most people, budgets don't work because even after spending all the time to use the budgeting tool, you still have to figure out yourself how to adjust that budget when your spending doesn't match up with your best intentions. This is profoundly frustrating!

MOST BUDGET TOOLS JUST TELL WHAT YOU DID WRONG. THEY DON'T TELL YOU HOW TO FIX IT.

A Different Approach

The SpendAbility vision (and dead-simple tool to guide our spending decisions) is for those of us who (for whatever reason) aren't satisfied with how our spending habits line up with how we would like to behave. We know we need to get better, but spending hours slogging through spreadsheets or complicated budgeting apps just doesn't work for us. 

It is tempting to believe that we would magically change our spending habits if we had the answer to this question before each transaction: "Just tell me how much I can spend."

  • But then our internal voice jumps in with "Don't tell me what to do!"

In fact, many of our decisions are made this way. We want to do something in the moment, and we ignore information (and our "better" internal voices) suggesting an alternate decision.  

  • Rather than fighting this reality, let's actively learn from it.

That's the SpendAbility approach. Stay tuned for the details.