Does your spending align with your values?

Reflection on 2024: Aligning Spending Habits with Life Goals

As we approach the end of 2024, it's a good time to reflect on the past year and assess how well my spending habits aligned with my life goals and values. My focus areas for this year were simplicity, experiences, travel, and entertainment, all aimed at reducing clutter and enhancing my overall quality of life. At the same time, it was a year of change, with moving cross-country.

At the beginning of last year I signed up for a financial management app that allowed me to connect my bank accounts, credit cards, etc. to track my income & expenses. It automatically categorizes transactions, while also giving me a control by being able to change the categories, set rules, and split transaction. It has the typical spending and income categories, like Home & Garden, Shopping, Dinner & Drinks, Interest, etc. At the same time you can create a custom category to more accurately catalog your finances. Thanks to this app, in the end of the year I could easily understand where my money went. In 2025 I also plan on using it on a monthly basis, setting budgets and keeping track of my finances. In the past I often asked myself “Where the heck is my money going?!?!” and now I have taken out the guess work. Information is power and I plan to use it.

Let’s get to it.

2024 Spending Categories

Home

A significant 42% of my expenses went towards house and garden improvements, primarily due to our recent move and the need for new furniture that fit our new space. While investing in a comfortable and functional living environment is important, I realize that at the high level this expenditure veers away from my goal of simplicity. At the same time, we bought few, quality furniture items and added some home enhancements, that improved the quality of our life. As I sink into a comfortable chair or couch, I find our new space relaxing and peaceful. We eliminated a lot of clutter, like knick knacks and decorations. We kept only the items that have meaning to us or that we enjoy esthetically.

Shopping

Shopping consumed another 23% of my budget. This category largely represents impulse purchases and non-essential items, which contradict the intention to declutter and simplify my life. The reality is that, while I may have enjoyed acquiring these items at the moment, they did not contribute meaningfully to my experience or satisfaction, highlighting a need to rethink my motivations behind spending in the future. Looking back, I can’t even rattle off 10 things I recall buying that improved my life. As a matter of fact I need to think hard on what I bought in general. I’m sure I purchased few important items that were true needs, but most of it seems wasteful and has not delivered lasting happiness and meaningful improvement to my life.

Bills & Utilities

Bills and utilities accounted for 22% of my expenses, a necessary part of maintaining my home but still a reminder of the ongoing costs associated with maintaining a property.

Pets

Expenses for pets (11%) indicate my commitment to providing for my furry companions. They include food, toys & treats, boarding, training, vet & medicine. While I love spoiling my fur babies, I need to make more mindful choices in this area. While dog training and boarding are worth-while purchases (they allow us to enjoy time without the dogs, or ensure that when we bring dogs with us to explore, they are well behaved), new toys or beds didn’t add so much incremental value.

Dining out

I spend 11% of budget on enjoying meals out. While for me, experiencing new restaurant, cuisine is a new adventure, it also reminds me of the importance of balance and mindful choices in these areas, as I could enhance my experiences without extravagant spending.

Travel

Travel, which only made up 9% of my expenditures, is a clear area where I fell short of my goals. My desire for experiences and exploration was not reflected financially, suggesting that I need to prioritize travel in my budget moving forward. With that, I will give myself a hall pass for 2024 due to the cross-country move. It took us a lot of time to settle in the new house and city, with the majority of expenses going to the house.

How did I do in summary?

I would give myself C-. After reviewing my expenses, the breakdown of my spending reveals a disconnect between my financial choices and my core values of simplicity, experiences, and adventure. Moving into 2025, I aim to refine my budget to prioritize travel and meaningful experiences, while reducing shopping expenses significantly.

Simplifying my life ultimately means making conscious choices that reflect my goals and values. I look forward to a new year filled with not just less, but more of what truly matters.

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