Every January, people get super motivated to “finally get control of their money.”

New year. Fresh start. Budgeting apps. Spreadsheets. High hopes.

They start tracking their spending…
They open their credit card statements…
They try to categorize every transaction…
And then they hit the same wall almost everyone hits:

It gets confusing.
Fast.
Because suddenly they’re staring at things like,
Target – $86.43
(…was that groceries? Shampoo? School supplies? All of the above?)
ATM Withdrawal – $100
(…and where did that even go? School Trip? Tolls? Babysitter?)
Amazon – $57.98
(…zero clue what that purchase was without digging through order history.)

And that’s the moment most people quit.
Not because they don’t care.
Not because they’re “bad with money.”
But because they think budgeting is supposed to be perfect from day one.

Here’s the real secret:
Budgeting is messy at the beginning, and that’s completely okay!
The trick to actually sticking with it?
Create “Store Categories” instead of trying to break everything apart.
That means:

Target = a category
Amazon = a category
Cash = a category
(Same for Costco, Walmart, local grocery, whatever’s common for you to get stuck on.)

Don’t try to figure out every little line item.
Don’t spend an hour guessing where that cash went.
Don’t torture yourself over a mixed purchase from Target.
Just categorize by the store and KEEP GOING.

Because once you do that for a month or two, something magical happens.
You finally get the big-picture view of your spending .
And if you notice one of those store categories is getting out of control?
THAT’S when you do a special deep dive.
Not into your whole budget.
Just that one category.
For example:
Target too high? Track your Target receipts for 2 weeks.
Amazon ballooning? Review your order history for the month.
Cash disappearing? Try a simple cash log for a few days.
Focused, simple, effective.

"Work smarter, not harder."

Happy Budgeting!