Comment by phyzix5761 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by phyzix5761 | Hacker News Reader

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Almost every single client I meet has no idea how much is actually going towards eating out or entertainment every month until we sit together and look at the numbers.

Everyone knows how much their rent and car payment is but most other stuff people have no idea. A lot of people don't even want to look at the numbers on their own so they need someone they can trust to help them face the reality.

Having someone who can sit you down through the process of accounting for every dollar, calls out areas where you're over spending, and helps you create a realistic balanced budget is very valuable.

Plus, there's other things like understanding the most effective way to pay off your debts, how much you could actually afford if you wanted to buy a house or a car, and understanding how to build wealth. Most people lack these skills but are very successful once they learn them.

That was one of my "wait, doesn't everyone do this?" realizations: Most people do not regularly look at their own finances, know how much they spend on what, and even roughly know how much money they have in their checking account! I could tell you how much I've spent on groceries, gas, restaurants, clothing, and so on, to the penny, and how it tracks vs. my budget, accurate at least as of a particular day. I can tell you to the penny any of my current account balances, cash, investment, or debt. But when I mention this to people, they look at me like I have a horn growing out of my head, like it's really weird and obsessive.

I've been in an HN thread where people claimed that it's easy to lose track of your subscriptions and accidentally pay for a service for years that you don't use. Like, really? You don't even look at your credit card bill and see what you're paying for, even monthly??? You really just turn on autopay and never even look at your bills?

I could have written this comment myself. I was surprised to find out that it wasn't common to track every single thing you spend, to have multiple Excel sheets for your money, and to constantly look at how you are faring against your budget. Seems like a lot of folks look at their checking account and go "guess I still have some money left over to spend." Maybe it's because I grew up poor or because my mother was very careful with finances herself (in spite of hardship). I would be curious to know what your case is.

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