The Halfway Point: Finding Your Hidden Cash
We have officially hit the halfway mark of the year, and what a great time for a mid-year expense audit! You know, all those pesky charges that you see, and you say to yourself, “I meant to cancel that!” Yeah. Those.
I am not talking about strict budgeting or feeling guilty about your spending. An expense audit is simply checking your cash flow for leaks: money that is still exiting your accounts for things you no longer use, need, or value.
To show you how powerful this can be, here are three recent examples from clients who took the time to do this exact exercise:
The "One Channel" Cable Bill: One client discovered she was paying $150 a month for her cable bill, but she realized she only watched one channel. That is one expensive channel! She cut the cord, saving herself $1,800 a year.
The Slow Creep: Another client realized his internet bill had slowly increased from $70 to $230 over several years. The internet company banked on him putting it on auto-pay and never noticing. A simple phone call fixed it.
The Big Structural Win: A couple in Southern California audited their biggest expense: their mortgage. They refinanced, reducing their interest rate by 1.125%. This move is saving them hundreds of dollars each month. (Remember our talk about the "Return on Hassle" in April? A 0.25% drop might not be worth the paperwork, but a 1.125% drop absolutely is!)
How much are you paying each month for your cell phone? There are great plans now for $15 to $30 a month. If you are paying more than that each month, it's time to reassess your plan. On Amazon and Door Dash more than you are comfortable with? You may be interested in the Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy Netflix documentary.
This Month’s Homework: The Quick Audit Pull three to six months of credit card and bank statements. Skim specifically for recurring monthly charges. Cancel the subscriptions you don't use, and negotiate the bills (like internet or insurance) that have slowly crept up on you.
Advanced Pro-Tip: The AI Expense Analysis If you want to take a deeper dive without doing the manual math, use technology to do the heavy lifting. Download three to six months of bank and credit card transactions into a spreadsheet. Remove all personal information, such as your name, account number, or anything traceable to you, and upload the file to your preferred AI tool (Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, etc.).
Use this exact prompt for your analysis (thanks to my client who shared this prompt ):
"Act as an expert in finance and budgeting. Your task is to categorize and summarize monthly expenses, providing a clear and concise overview to help understand spending habits and identify potential savings areas. Organize the expenses into relevant categories such as housing, groceries, utilities, entertainment, transportation, and miscellaneous. Each category must show the total amount spent for the month and include a brief analysis comparing it to previous months to identify trends. Create a report that I can share with my financial planner."
A solid financial plan isn't just about picking the right index fund; it is also about ensuring your current cash flow is actually funding the life you want to live. If you do this audit and free up a few hundred dollars a month, let's talk. We can look at your financial plan and decide exactly where to deploy that found money to get you to your goals faster.
Talk soon,
Krystal