So, you know how these astrological things pop up, right? “Pisces money week: Your outlook?” I saw that title pop up on my feed a while back, and usually, I just scroll past. But for some reason, that week, it actually caught my eye. My finances, honestly, felt like a bit of a swirling, cloudy mess, just like you might picture a Pisces in deep thought. I felt like I was spending, but I wasn’t really seeing where it all went. So, I figured, why not use this as an excuse to actually sit down and figure things out? It was less about the stars and more about finding a good hook to actually get started.
Kicking Things Off: The Mental Prep
The first thing I did was just mentally prepare myself. I grabbed a coffee, sat at my desk, and just breathed. I knew this wasn’t going to be a quick glance, but a proper dive. My outlook going into it was, frankly, a bit of dread. I expected to see a lot of unnecessary spending, a lot of “where did that go?” moments. But I also promised myself I wouldn’t beat myself up. This was about discovery, not punishment. I pulled up my banking app and my main credit card statement. My goal wasn’t to change anything immediately, but simply to see it all laid out.
The Deep Dive: Tracking Every Penny
I started with my main checking account. I scrolled through the transactions from the past month, line by line. I actually opened up a simple spreadsheet – nothing fancy, just two columns: “What it was” and “How much.” I began to type in every single outgoing transaction. It felt tedious at first, I won’t lie. Like, really tedious. I saw all the usual suspects: groceries, utility bills, rent. But then, there were the smaller, more frequent ones. The impulse buys, the extra coffees, the subscriptions I barely used. I highlighted those. This wasn’t about judgment yet, just about seeing them.
- I recorded every payment, big or small.
- I categorized where I could – food, entertainment, transport.
- I flagged recurring payments to make sure I knew what was fixed.
After my checking account, I moved to my credit card. This was where things usually got a bit murkier because it always felt like “future money.” Again, I copied every transaction into my spreadsheet. The sheer number of small purchases really started to add up here. Those little taps for convenience, those late-night online browsing sessions that turned into purchases – they were all there, staring back at me. My outlook was shifting from dread to a kind of surprised realization. It wasn’t one big leak; it was a thousand tiny drips.
Spotting the Patterns: My Personal Spending Habits
Once I had all the data in one place, I started to sort it. I grouped similar items together. That’s when the patterns truly jumped out. I identified two main areas where I was consistently overspending without even realizing it. One was “eating out/delivery,” and the other was “impulse online shopping.” It wasn’t that I was buying super expensive things, it was the frequency of the less expensive things that became the problem. I saw how often I’d grab a quick lunch when I had food at home, or how many times I’d added something “just because” to an online cart.
This process of visualizing my spending, rather than just feeling it disappear, was key. My initial “Pisces money outlook” of foggy confusion was slowly clearing. I wasn’t rich, but I also wasn’t broke. I was just… inefficient. I was letting my money slip through my fingers on things that didn’t truly bring me lasting joy or value.
Making the Change: Small Steps, Big Impact
So, what did I do about it? I didn’t make any drastic cuts. That just feels unsustainable to me. Instead, I decided on a few small, actionable changes. For the “eating out” part, I planned my meals a bit better. I committed to packing my lunch at least three days a week. For the online shopping, I instituted a “24-hour rule.” If I saw something I wanted, I added it to a wish list, but I had to wait 24 hours before actually buying it. More often than not, the urge passed, and I’d delete it from the list.
I also looked at my subscriptions. There were a couple of streaming services and an app I hadn’t used in months. I cancelled them. It was a small amount each, but again, it was those tiny drips adding up. By the end of this “Pisces money week” of introspection and action, my outlook wasn’t just clearer; it was calmer. I felt more in control, more aware. It wasn’t about being perfect, but about being present with my money. I closed my spreadsheet, feeling a sense of accomplishment I hadn’t anticipated.
