Notes on Personal Finance

Thu, 22 May 2025 11:12:47 +0200

I’ve been slowly getting my head around personal finance over the last few years. Nothing dramatic — just trying to understand where money goes, how to save it, and what to do with it once you’ve saved some. Here’s a collection of frameworks, tools, and resources that have helped.

Budgeting

The first step is knowing what you actually spend. Most people guess and are wrong.

Monarch Money – A budgeting app that connects to your accounts and categorises spending automatically. I’ve found it useful for seeing where money leaks out each month.
YNAB (You Need A Budget) – The most aggressive budgeting method I’ve tried. Every pound gets assigned a job before you spend it. Steep learning curve but changes how you think about money.
PocketGuard – Simpler than YNAB. Tells you how much “spendable” cash you have after bills and savings are accounted for.
Google Sheets budget templates – If you prefer manual control, a spreadsheet gives you full visibility without linking bank accounts.

Tracking and the Quantified Self

Once you’re budgeting, tracking specific metrics helps you see progress.

Money on Shafiq Alibhai

Notes on Personal Finance

Budgeting

Tracking and the Quantified Self