Money in One Chart

bad month

A bad month starts with an audit that takes fifteen minutes and a bank statement.

Every recurring charge, on one page, with the date it renews. Most people find two or three they forgot, and one they would not choose again.

You asked for the audit worksheet. It is below, as the slides from the post, then the one move, then the tool the chart points at.

Slide 1 of 7: A bad month starts with an audit that takes fifteen minutes and a bank statement.Slide 2 of 7: Fifteen minutes with two bank statements.Slide 3 of 7: Subscriptions are the only cut that costs nothing to make and nothing to reverse.Slide 4 of 7: The charges people forget are the annual ones and the ones that started as a free trial.Slide 5 of 7: Cutting subscriptions will not fix a real income gap, and it is not supposed to.Slide 6 of 7: Prices for eating out rose this much in the year to August 2026, faster than food at home.Slide 7 of 7: Save this for the month that goes wrong.

Fifteen minutes with two bank statements.

  1. 01
    Circle every charge that appears in both months.Those are your recurring costs.
  2. 02
    Write each one down with the amount and the renewal date.Monthly and annual. Annual ones hide.
  3. 03
    Mark each one keep, pause, or cancel.Pause where the service allows it. You may want it back.

The tool this chart points at

A budgeting app

Every bill and every recurring charge on one screen, so nothing is missed in a bad month.

Open it

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Sources: BLS CPI, August 2026.

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