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by DLarsen 4617 days ago
I had similar experiences. The real value for a lot of folks would be to develop the proper mindset and decision making process for everyday spending.

I have a hobby project (http://www.spendlight.com/) that's growing out of my own household's efforts to get on the same page with our mental model of our finances. The charts in Mint or the wall of numbers coming out of a typical bank statement wasn't directly helpful for my wife and I to truly coordinate our spending and reach a consensus on what expenses were good vs bad. The more we've focused on our decisions rather than the mere dollars and sense, the more progress we've made in becoming responsible spenders.

Anyhow, I'd love to get more insights from folks such as yourself who were able to get their finances under control. I think a tool that accounts the behavioral realities of our spending habits would have substantial value for at least a handful of folks. Agree? Disagree?

2 comments

I agree. Life is a bit simpler for me being single and not having big recurring expenses (my only monthly bills are rent, phone, car insurance - and I'm getting rid of the car).

I think a tool to show behavior patterns in spending would be immensely helpful. I typically spent very differently when money was tight vs when my credit balances were at $0. It took me a few cycles before realizing that as soon as I had a couple grand in my pocket I'd make some big ticket purchase that wasn't always necessary. In fact, I'm fighting off the urge to buy a new rMBP right now! hah.

I think what you're talking about is a problem that nobody has even attempted to solve yet. I normally spend about $75 /yr on "financial tools" (usually credit reports, fico scores, etc), so yes, I would be willing to spend money on something like that if it were good and could learn & show my patterns over time.

Heck, if it sat watching my browser history and would ask me if I really wanted to buy X when I'm spending too much time looking at it on Amazon, that'd be killer! lol

I'll check it out! Looks pretty good. I'll let you know wha tI think.
Thanks. You can reach my gmail directly at david.larsen.