For those of you in the accountability program, this week I want you to drop one actual number from your budget in the comments. This could be something you saved, something you overspent on, what you put toward debt, or what's sitting in your checking account right now. Last week was intros which was great, this week we're getting into the real stuff. For everyone else in the community, same invitation applies. Drop a number, ask a question, or share something you're working on. The more people that show up in here the better this gets for everyone. I will go first. I just finished updating my budget for the month of July, and I spent $581 in total across Groceries/Food, Transportation, Experiences and Misc. I came in right about on budget!

Exciting announcement — we just launched the 8-Week Budget Accountability Program this week and I have three members who have signed up and are already getting started. Really pumped about this. For those three, this is your first weekly check-in thread. Every Sunday I'll post one of these and all I need from you is to post one thing in the comments. Could be any of the following: - A win from this week, even a small one. Ex. You stayed under budget on groceries, didn't make an impulse purchase you were tempted by, or actually opened your budget spreadsheet - Something you're currently working on or a goal you're going into next week with - A number from your budget. Ex. what you saved, what you spent, what you're tracking - Or just a quick intro so everyone knows who's in the program No wrong answers and no judgment. The whole point of this thread is just to build the habit of showing up and being accountable once a week. Even one sentence counts. For everyone else in the community — feel free to drop something in the comments too. The more people sharing what they're working on the better this community gets for everyone. I'll go first: this week I set up the structure for this program, did my own budget review this morning, and I'm going into next week with a goal of keeping my eating out spending under $50. Your turn!

Hey everyone, I wanted to share my experience with this community and working with James directly since I think it might resonate with some of you. Before I started working with him I was really concerned about my spending habits and worried about my financial future. I knew I needed to get more intentional with my finances but I didn't really know where to start. After working through the budgeting spreadsheet each week, I realized where my money was actually going and what trends I was seeing each week. This allowed me to notice certain areas of concern and find ways to save money and be more intentional about my spending each week. The thing that helped me most was the Sunday check in where I took a chance to analyze my week and notice areas of weakness where I was struggling to be intentional with my spending. If you're on the fence about getting more involved in here or reaching out to James directly, I'd say just do it. He makes it really easy to get started and doesn't make you feel bad about where you're at.

Something I used to do that was killing my budget: I'd check my bank account balance to decide if I could afford something instead of checking my budget. Those are two completely different things. Your balance includes money that's already spoken for - rent, subscriptions, groceries, whatever is coming out later in the month. So it looks like you have more than you actually do, and you spend accordingly. The fix is simple but it changed how I think about money entirely. Instead of asking "do I have enough in my account?" ask "does my budget have room for this?" If you haven't allocated money for it and there's no leftover, the answer is no, regardless of what your balance says. Curious if anyone else has fallen into this trap before. What's a spending habit you've had to actively unlearn?