Introduction: The One Experiment I Was Avoiding for Years
I didn’t start this experiment because I was disciplined. Instead, I began it because I was frustrated.
Salary in.
Money out.
No clear idea where it went.
I had theories, of course. Rent was high. Inflation was real. Life was expensive. All valid excuses. However, deep down, I knew something else was happening.
Eventually, I did the one thing most of us avoid because it feels uncomfortable and boring:
I tracked every rupee I spent.
Not roughly. Instead, I did it deliberately. Not mentally — but consistently. Every single rupee, for 30 straight days.
What I found wasn’t shocking because the numbers were huge. Rather, it was shocking because they were small, frequent, and everywhere.
And that’s when the surprising truth revealed itself — this is where my money was actually going.
Why I Decided to Track Every Rupee for 30 Days
Let’s be honest — most of us believe we understand our spending patterns.
“I don’t shop that much.”
“I rarely eat out.”
“My expenses are mostly fixed.”
These are assumptions — with zero proof.
Tracking money isn’t about guilt; instead, it’s about clarity. Moreover, behavioral-finance research and financial-education resources such as the OECD Financial Literacy Insights
👉 https://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-education/
and Investopedia’s guide on expense tracking
👉 https://www.investopedia.com/how-to-track-expenses-7486899
show that simply monitoring spending improves awareness and decision-making.
So I wanted to shine a spotlight on where my money was going instead of guessing and hoping things improved. As a result, I committed to one simple rule:
If I spend it, I record it — no exceptions.
The Method: Simple, Boring, and Brutally Honest
I didn’t use fancy apps or complicated spreadsheets. Even so, tools like Google Sheets and YNAB work great for expense tracking:
👉 https://www.youneedabudget.com/learn/expense-tracking/
Here’s exactly what I did.
Step 1: One Sheet, One Rule
I opened a simple spreadsheet and created columns for:
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Category
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Amount
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Notes (optional, but eye-opening)
That’s it.
Step 2: Record Actual Money Spent Each Day
Not weekly, and not “I’ll update later.”
Instead, I recorded the actual money spent each day — sometimes immediately after spending.
Coffee? Logged.
Auto ride? Logged.
Online order? Logged.
Tracking later introduces bias. Tracking immediately introduces truth.
Week 1: “This Isn’t So Bad”
The first few days felt harmless. Groceries, transport, utilities — everything appeared normal. I felt validated; I felt like a responsible adult.
However, the small entries soon began stacking up:
₹120 coffee
₹180 snacks
₹299 subscription renewal
₹150 delivery charges
Individually harmless — but together, a very different story.
Week 2: The Hidden Leaks Revealed Themselves
By the second week, patterns started becoming obvious.
The Tiny, Hidden Money Leaks
These weren’t big purchases — instead, they were frequent and forgettable:
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Multiple food deliveries instead of one planned meal
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App subscriptions I barely used
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Convenience spending when tired or lazy
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Small impulse buys online
This mirrors what many spending-habit studies — including research discussed in Harvard Business Review on micro-spending behaviour — explain about low-value, high-frequency expenses:
👉 https://hbr.org/2020/01/the-psychology-behind-micro-spending
The amounts were small. The frequency was deadly.
Week 3: Emotional Spending Became Obvious
This week surprised me the most. Once enough data accumulated, I began to see why I was spending — not just where.
Patterns emerged:
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Higher spending on stressful days
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Ordering food when mentally exhausted
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Late-night online shopping
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“Reward” spending after long workdays
Money problems aren’t always math problems — often, they’re emotional ones.
This aligns with behavioral-economics and financial-stress findings shared by the World Bank and OECD:
👉 https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/publication/financial-capability
Week 4: The Full Picture (And the Wake-Up Call)
By the end of 30 days, I had clarity I’d never experienced before.
Here’s the surprising truth about where my money was actually going:
It wasn’t drifting toward big, intentional purchases. Instead, it was flowing toward:
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Convenience
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Comfort
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Impulse
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Avoidance
The real problem wasn’t rent or bills — it was unconscious spending.
What Tracking Every Rupee Actually Taught Me
1️⃣ Awareness Changes Behaviour Automatically
I didn’t force myself to stop spending. Instead, spending reduced naturally because:
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Every purchase had to be acknowledged
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Mindless swiping felt uncomfortable
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Small expenses stopped feeling invisible
Awareness alone changed habits — a principle reinforced in Morningstar’s behavioral-finance research:
👉 https://www.morningstar.com/lp/behavioral-finance
2️⃣ “Small Amounts” Are a Lie We Tell Ourselves
₹100 here. ₹200 there. ₹300 online.
Individually harmless — but collectively dangerous. Repeated micro-spending quietly drains thousands, a trend also highlighted in McKinsey’s subscription-spending research:
👉 https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-subscription-economy
3️⃣ Budgeting Without Tracking Is Guesswork
Before this, I thought I was budgeting. In reality, I was estimating.
Tracking revealed the gap between:
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What I thought I spent
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What I actually spent
That gap was uncomfortable — yet incredibly empowering.
Common Mistakes People Make When They Try This
If you’re planning to try this, avoid:
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Tracking only big expenses
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Updating records at the end of the day
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Using too many categories
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Judging yourself instead of observing patterns
Financial-wellness guidance from the Reserve Bank of India and global financial-literacy programs emphasises that tracking is a diagnostic — not a punishment:
👉 https://financialeducation.rbi.org.in/
Pro Tips That Made Tracking Easier
A few small tweaks helped me stay consistent:
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Keep tracking tools easily accessible
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Log expenses immediately
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Add short emotional notes
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Review data weekly — not daily
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Focus on patterns, not perfection
Tracking works best when it’s frictionless.
What I Changed After the 30 Days
I didn’t become extreme or frugal overnight. Instead, I became intentional.
So I:
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Reduced impulse food orders
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Cancelled unused subscriptions
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Planned spending days instead of random spending
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Set limits for convenience categories
No deprivation — just direction.
Why Everyone Should Track Every Rupee for 30 Days (At Least Once)
This isn’t a forever habit. Rather, it’s a financial health check-up — a concept recommended in spending-audit guides from NerdWallet and CNBC Make It:
👉 https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/spending-audit
👉 https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/article/how-to-do-a-30-day-money-detox
You don’t track to punish yourself. Instead, you track to understand yourself.
Once you see the truth — you can’t unsee it.
How to Start Today (Simple Action Steps)
If you’re ready to try it:
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Open a spreadsheet or notes app
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Track every rupee for 30 days
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List the dates down the left side
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Record spending daily
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Review patterns weekly
That’s it. No apps required. No complicated rules. Just honesty.
Conclusion: Clarity Is the First Real Upgrade
I didn’t earn more money after this experiment — but I managed better. Surprisingly, tracking didn’t make me miserable. Instead, it made me calmer.
For the first time, I knew exactly where my money was going.
So if you’ve ever wondered why savings feel impossible or money disappears mysteriously, try this once.
Track every rupee for 30 days — the results will surprise you.
