HOW CAN YOU ASSESS YOUR BURN RATE?

It’s vital to take stock of where you’re actually spending your money on a monthly basis. Keehn suggests doing what she calls “the 30-day anti-budget”: Print all your statements (yes, on actual paper), comb through your expenses and start highlighting. Pick one colour for purchases you can axe, like that third TV subscription service you don’t use or the fast-delivery opt-in you never got around to cancelling, and another colour for items you can cut back on. (Looking at you, Uber Eats.) This way, you can identify the areas where your money is disappearing and assess whether those purchases are actually necessary or, if not, whether they’re worth it. Once you’ve looked at all your data, you can start tweaking your behaviour if an adjustment feels called for. To help you make changes, suggests Keehn, keep a financial journal in which you track every single one of your expenses—a meticulous process that could annoy you into better spending habits.