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The other day, I was cutting up brownies into serving sizes after I baked up a pan.  I specifically did not want to eat a brownie. I was about to go out to dinner, and I had already had sweets earlier in the day, and I was going to be having desert later that night.  So, instead, I proceeded to eat the crumbs that were left after I cut a brownie.  The pieces that stuck to the bottom of the pan also got eaten off the bottom, before the pan made its way into the sink.  And that last little piece that wasn’t quite big enough to be a serving size… well don’t even get me started on that.  Ultimately, I think I probably would have eaten less if I had just cut myself a normal size brownie, but thats not really the point here.  The point is that, in dieting and in budgeting, the crumbs count.

It is much too easy to justify small expenses as just that, small expenses.  It’s just a latte, its just a lunch.  Before I started tracking my expenses, I found myself saying that to myself all the time.  One of my biggest surprises when I started tracking my budget was ATM fees.  It was so easy for me to say that I would just go to the closest ATM, especially when I lived in a city and walked everywhere.  Unfortunately, all those little 2 and 3 dollar charges added up to an amount that shocks me.  

Once I started keeping track of every little detail, it was so much easier for me to see where my budget busters are, just like once you start tracking your calories, you can see where the empty one’s are.  It also helped me to see that the crumbs can sometimes add up to more than a whole piece.  I’d much rather eat one nice dinner out a month, then the 4 or 5 or 6 little meals at McDonalds that I used to grab without thinking about it.  And, once I saw how much I was spending on these silly little crumbs, it amazed me that I actually could have one nice meal out and still end up ahead.  

I know it is a pain to do.  But, especially when you are first starting to figure out your budget or getting on the path to paying back debt, it is a vital and necessary step.  If you don’t know where your little money leaks are, you’ll never be able to stop the slow drip of money out of your pocket.  And, trust me, if you have never tracked your expenses, you will be shocked at just how large of a piece of brownie all these things add up to.