Hi Richardse! I'm glad you're getting something out of my journal, that's awesome.Richardse wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:16 amI think this is great that you track your personal finances and encourage others to do the same. I even noticed that you donate some money to charity too. I know that some people think that tracking their finances is pointless, and that you can see anything on your bank statement. I learned about this when I was searching for some info on how to read forex charts. From the information I found, I learned how crucial it is to track your income and expenses. I tried to use this advice for my personal finances too. I realized that I spend too much money on some pointless stuff. It made me reconsider my attitude towards spending.
I think tracking spending is vital to achieving FI. If you don't know where your money is going, or don't even know how much you spend, then it's going to be tough to change your behaviors, and to make sure your spending aligns with your priorities and goals.
Also, cutting spending is incredibly powerful in speeding you towards FI. It's an instant win, your savings rate goes up and your net worth target drops too. I often think to myself "If I could figure out how to cut my spending in half, I'd be FI now".
Charity is important to me. I feel fortunate to have a huge income (from a global perspective) and I feel like it's a small sacrafice to give some money away that can reduce suffering in others. The majority of my charity dollars go to Givewell, which funnels funds to causes that save the most lives per dollar.