Submitted by soupbowlie t3_110ln0q in personalfinance
People can be really emotionally confronted when looking at money coming in and out, but it has only given me peace. I track every penny in the privacy of my own home (not when out with others) and when various people in my life have found out about it, they made fun of it or said, "Sure, you can save because (blank)" even when they make a lot more money than me. I recently found out the power of that beyond my own checkbook and future goals.
A family member used to give me little gifts here and there and want constant favors in return because I "owed" them. I would send a thank you note for the money and did what I felt I wanted to do for them when it was appropriate for me to do it. I decided to add a "money from so-and-so" line in my budget and added to it whenever I got any money from them. I also spent from that category whenever I was dealing with that person. Gas, hotels to visit, gifts, anything and everything I put in that. I did suspect but still could not BELIEVE how much that person had cost me in money over the year, let alone time and mental stress. I let them know that I basically could not afford them any more and to please not send anything again and I would budget for them out of what I could actually afford. Of course they hit the roof but I got so much peace of mind. Also, numbers do not lie when you are dealing with manipulative people. This also works for friends that think "you're so rich" when you are hanging out just because you save. I had to learn all this on my own because my family wanted me broke.