Wealth Watchers by Alice Wood

Author:Alice Wood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FREE PRESS
Published: 2010-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Discretionary Spending

I’m often asked if the Wealth Watchers philosophy—that we should keep track of our daily discretionary spending—is too much of a burden. Why would you give up the ease and efficiency of simply swiping a credit or debit card and walking away with your purchase? But this efficiency is the problem. The various advancements in the financial services industry seem to have had an unintended consequence: they’ve allowed us to skip an important step in the decision process involved in making a purchase. In the name of adding ease and efficiency to a transaction, these cards have stolen our moment to “think before we spend.”

Sure, writing down everything you spend is an effort. But it’s an effort that will help improve your bottom line. It’s an effort that your children will notice. It’s an effort that will help you understand that every day and every dollar really do make a difference.

At Weight Watchers, our leader, Betty Bennett, used to have this saying. “Nothing tastes as good as being thin makes you feel.” When it comes to money, I’ve found that no “purchase” feels as good as being in control of my money. Writing down everything I ate made it much simpler to lose weight just as writing down everything I spend has made it possible for us to vastly improve our bottom line.

After starting the Weight Watchers program, I wouldn’t grab a handful of M&Ms from the candy dish in our office. Not only would it have been a waste of calories, I would have had to take time to write down that I ate something in my Weight Watchers journal. That added step made me think before I ate. Was it a pain? Well, a little. But it was worth it to get back to my old weight. When it comes to money, the same principle applies. Something as trivial as taking a moment to write down a purchase can actually change the way you shop. You won’t want to look back at your journal and see that you wasted money. And the result is that you too can see your bottom line improve

There is also a disconnect between what people think they have spent and what they have actually spent. If you’ve ever been surprised by the balance due on your credit card statement at the end of the month then you know what I mean. Many people don’t seem to have any idea how much money they have spent until the statement arrives … just as many people can’t understand why they are overweight.

If you want to change your financial life, you can’t just talk about it. You have to take action. So if you really care about money, you need to know your numbers. You need to understand down to the day what you can spend without going into debt. You need to track all of your spending for at least a month or two. And if you try it, you might find that

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