It never ceases to amaze me how many people don't even look at their bank/credit card statements and just let their credit cards auto-pay.
Back when I was poor, I was logging into my bank and credit card accounts at least twice/week. I always knew within $20 how much money I had.
As a well-paid tech worker, I'm still checking at each paycheck (2x/month) and paying the credit card card off every time, but I'm still scanning the statements for any unexpected charges and to keep a pulse on my spending.
Fun anecdote, my wife started talking to me while I was scanning my statement once and she noticed there was a $20 charge from a business named "Your Side Chick" that she questioned in a joking way. It was from a food cart that specializes in chicken strips.
FWIW, I find looking at my statement and trying to remember if I actually made a random purchase of $8.63 to some unrecognizable name three weeks ago to be a much more difficult workflow than just enabling email notifications for every transaction so I can triage them quickly / at my convenience.
The foot cart scene in the Portland metro area is really good. Those chicken strips were amazing and the sauce was superb. And despite hating both kale and cole slaw, their kale cole slaw was delicious.
Back when I was poor, I was logging into my bank and credit card accounts at least twice/week. I always knew within $20 how much money I had.
As a well-paid tech worker, I'm still checking at each paycheck (2x/month) and paying the credit card card off every time, but I'm still scanning the statements for any unexpected charges and to keep a pulse on my spending.
Fun anecdote, my wife started talking to me while I was scanning my statement once and she noticed there was a $20 charge from a business named "Your Side Chick" that she questioned in a joking way. It was from a food cart that specializes in chicken strips.