3 years of tracking personal financies

It may sound a bit obsessive, but seeing the whole flow of your personal finances gives me a sense of stability and confidence. Instead of thinking “I guess I’m saving enough”, I can actually look at the numbers.

Since 2026 isn’t over yet, for the year-over-year comparison I used only January–August for each year.

1. Income and spending

Overall, the picture looks relatively stable. My goal has been to save around 50% of my income.

Of course, it doesn’t work every month. Vacations, large purchases, and gifts create noticeable spikes in spending. But looking at the bigger picture, I’m pretty happy with the result.

2. Savings rate — 12 months window

This graph was probably the most interesting one for me.

I thought my savings rate had been relatively predictable and close to 50%. The rolling 12-month window showed that I was quite wrong :)

There were periods around 30%, others above 40%, and only recently have I come close to the 50% level.

A good reminder that our perception of numbers can be very different from the actual data.

3. Where the money goes

This is a comparison of my spending categories over the last three years.

One result I’m particularly happy about is Groceries & essentials. Despite inflation, I managed to spend less on this category in 2026 than in the previous year.

The biggest surprise was Subscriptions. Spending there is about 7.6x higher than two years ago.

OpenAI and Anthropic definitely came into play) Although, to be fair, recurring expenses also grew because I’ve been taking English lessons with a personal tutor for the last couple of years.

And travel… well, apparently I already knew where that money was going.

Outcomes

The main takeaway for me is that tracking expenses isn’t really about restricting yourself. It’s about understanding where your money goes and whether those expenses actually match your priorities.

After three years of doing this, I don’t think I could go back to not tracking it.