I Tracked Every Rupee I Spent for 30 Days. Here’s What I Learned

I used to think I was "good" with money. I never took loans, didn’t splurge too often, and paid my bills on time.

But I still kept asking myself:

“Where did my money go this month?”

So I did something simple — for 30 days, I tracked every single rupee I spent.
No fancy app. Just a Google Sheet and a little discipline.

Here’s what I learned — and why you should try it too (at least once).

🧾 Step 1: What I Tracked

Every time I spent money — even ₹10 on chai — I noted:

• What I bought
• Why I bought it
• How I felt about it later

I categorized everything:

• Food & Groceries
• Travel
• Entertainment
• Online shopping
• UPI/cash/eWallet
• Unplanned expenses

📊 The Surprises (And Small Shocks)

1. 😲 I Was Spending Too Much on “Little” Things

“It’s just ₹50...”
“Only ₹100 for delivery…”

But by the end of the month, these added up to ₹4,300.
Snacks, chai, delivery charges, tips, and random app renewals.

✍️ Lesson:

Small expenses are the silent killers of budgeting.

2. 🎯 I Was Emotion-Spending Without Realizing

Bad day? Swiggy.
Feeling bored? Amazon.
Overworked? Fancy coffee.

Almost 20% of my spends were tied to mood, not need.

✍️ Lesson:

Tracking made me realize when I was spending to escape — not because I needed anything.

3. 💳 Subscriptions I Forgot Were Auto-Renewing

I found:

• An old OTT plan (₹149)
• A cloud storage renewal I didn’t use (₹130)
• A random app premium I forgot I bought (₹249)

✍️ Lesson:

Auto-renewals are budget termites. I canceled three.

4. 💰My “Fun Money” Was Unplanned — And Guilt-Driven

I didn’t have a “limit” for fun — so I either overdid it or felt guilty.

✍️ Lesson:

Planning a fun budget helped me enjoy spending, without guilt.

5. 📈 I Spent Less — Without Trying

Just the act of tracking made me think twice.

By week 3, I was asking:

“Do I want this, or is it just habit?”

I ended up saving ₹2,100 more than my usual monthly average — without any major sacrifice.

🧠 Final Takeaways

• Awareness = Power
• Tracking money is like tracking calories: not fun at first, but life-changing
• I now know exactly how much I need to survive, enjoy, and grow
• I feel more in control, less anxious

💡 My Tools

• Google Sheet with categories & daily total
• Cashbook app (for quick on-the-go notes)
• Weekly reflection: Did this expense make me feel happy or meh?

🗓 Want to Try It?

Here’s a challenge:

Track every rupee for 7 days. Then go 30.

You don’t need perfection — just attention.

Even if you do it once, you’ll learn things about yourself your bank balance could never show.

📢 Bonus Coming Soon:

Free “30-Day Spending Tracker” Template (Google Sheet + Printable)

👉 Subscribe to Bitveen to get your copy!

This post is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice.