Why Knowing Your Numbers is the Ultimate Form of Self-Care

June 23, 2025

Whether you're managing a business or your personal finances, we’ve all faced those moments when the numbers, checks, and balances force us into an uncomfortable kind of self-reflection.

In that space, it’s easy to let guilt and blame creep in. Every purchase becomes a point of tension—your bank balance drops, and you find yourself asking: Why does everything cost so much? Was I being careless? Why didn’t I plan better?

We point fingers—at the economy, at our “reckless” spending—until payday hits. Suddenly, everything feels manageable again. Bills are covered, confidence returns, and you do a bit of quick math in your head to estimate what’s safe to spend.

And just like that, the cycle starts over.

Some people live their whole lives without managing this frustrating cycle, and end up with bigger worries over time like the purchase of a new home or car, retirement, traveling, or simply saving up for a rainy day.

A study conducted by Pew Research Center shows that on average about 54% of Americans claim they are financially literate. The disparity grows when we look at the comparisons between White and non-white Americans, (58% & 49% respectively) and then Lower (42%), Middle(56%), and Upper income (72%) households. While all these numbers can get frustrating and overwhelming, I am here to remind you that your financial literacy does not have to be a part of a statistic.

First, let's look at accountability. How can we do this without bullying ourselves? Psychologically we are hardwired to believe that accountability means blame. What if we started to look at it as our way of taking care of ourselves? Similar to skincare routines or exercise routines, we fit these routines into our lives in order to better our overall health. We can apply the same methodology onto finances. Over time we will see that our financial literacy gets stronger and our bank account balances start to look more and more relaxing.

Budgeting tools are not a one size fits all, full disclosure, every person’s priorities are going to differ from one another’s. A good start is to list out all of your expenses.

Looking at the entire month of your expenses, categorize each expense into high, medium, and low priority. Common sense dictates that housing, groceries, utilities, and transportation costs are at the highest priority, since they affect everyone regardless of income level. After those costs are captured, you will take your monthly take-home income and subtract from it, the total of those costs to give you available funds for every other expense you incur throughout the month.

TIP: If you are looking at your list of medium & low priority expenses and you notice items that you can live without, such as a Peacock or Paramount subscription, take the time right then and there to unsubscribe and give yourself that peace of mind. You now have $8 back in your pocket each month. It's a small amount but over time it adds up. $8 a month is $96 a year, which is $96 you could use to pay a credit card, car registration, muni pass or bus pass, or it could simply mean you now can guilt free pay for an iced coffee each month.

Now, reality check. Some people are going to do these calculations and see $0 left over and some people are going to see $500+ left over. For those that are at $0, remember that this is zero after ALL of your basic needs are met. Market research shows that 57% of Americans have reported they are living paycheck to paycheck with zero left over for medium or low priority expenses. This issue is not specific to just yourself, you are a part of a bigger issue that we can all be proactive about resolving. Take a look at my next blog post, Millennial Economics for Everyone, where I go into more detail on the effects the current economy has on the working age class and how we can fight back, make more money, and have financial peace of mind.

For those of you who are still reading because you have $20-$500 or more left over each month. Congratulations, you have broken the ceiling. Which is no small feat, there was a study done in 2010 that stated people who make at least $75,000 a year are significantly happier than those who make less. I know that’s a total Captain Obvious statement, but it's worth noting, in this day and age where happiness is considered a unit of measure, you’ve passed.

All jokes aside, taking the surplus of money that you have and weighing it out against low-medium priority expenses, trips, dinners, shopping, events, and everything fun that life has to offer, it becomes another daunting project that brings you almost as much stress as the first task. And there are dozens of methods that you could use, but the method that I have used personally and suggested to all my friends and family is the 60/40 method. That means 60% of those additional funds go to personal use and 40% goes to savings. I’ve suggested that people who want to save more, can flip the script and send 60% to savings and 40% to personal use.

Full disclosure, there are tons of people out there that would say “No, I’m gonna take all my extra money and SAVE it” or “I’m gonna take all my extra money and SPEND it”. I’m here to let you know that both options are valid and up to each person’s discretion. But if your goal is to become more financially literate, there is a psychological study done by Christin Siegfried and Eveline Wuttke that proves adults who apply delayed gratification in finances, are able to retrain their mind to have healthier outlook of their financial standing. This means that by creating a fair balance (60/40) with your extra money will limit the amount you have to spend, but will also retrain your mind to have a positive outlook on your financial health. It’s like a reward!

Let’s be real—money stuff can feel like a never-ending rollercoaster. One minute you’re calculating how to survive the week on $12.47, and the next you’re planning a weekend getaway because payday hits and you're feeling rich-rich. But here’s the thing: managing your money doesn’t have to suck the joy out of life.

By ditching the guilt, getting real with your priorities, and finding a system that works for you (hello, 60/40 method), you’re already winning. Think of financial literacy like a new habit or hobby—kind of like skincare, but for your wallet. You’re not going to be a pro overnight, and that’s totally okay. What matters is that you’re starting, you’re trying, and you’re giving future-you a high five in advance.

So unsubscribe from that streaming service you forgot about, celebrate your $8 victory, and keep building a system that lets you live your life and feel good about it. Money doesn’t have to be scary—it can actually be empowering, once you flip the script.

You’ve got this. Me and your bank account are rooting for you.