When tracking your money becomes a lifestyle… and maybe, a little too hot to handle.
I once read a Reddit thread where someone used a Notion template to track his marriage, sex life, and emotional “output” like a fiscal report. Naturally, he got roasted. But as I sipped my ₱135 iced Matcha latte (thanks, ZUS!) while reading that saga in my Google Sheets monthly spending log, I had to ask:
Is that guy crazy? Or are the rest of us just broke and winging it?
In this economy, is it really obsessive to want to know where your money went?
The Stats Don’t Lie, But Our Wallets Might
Let’s cut through the aesthetic dashboards and pastel-colored pie charts for a second.
According to a 2023 survey by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, 60% of Filipino adults still don’t save regularly. And among millennials and Gen Zs? A whopping 73% say they’ve experienced financial stress in the last three months, but less than 25% actually track their spending consistently.
So maybe the real problem isn’t obsessing over numbers.
Maybe it’s pretending not to care until the credit card bill arrives.
What if knowing your exact expenses isn’t micromanaging your life, but finally showing up for it?
Minimalism is a Vibe, But Is it a Lie?
Let’s get something out of the way:
I love a good minimalism aesthetic as much as the next woman. White walls. One houseplant. “Do less.”
But when it comes to finances? Less is rarely more.
Some minimalists swear by just “checking their account balance” every few days and “being mindful.”
But being mindful without being measurable is like taking a diet advice from someone who never checks the scale or the mirror.
In fact, the Global Financial Literacy Survey showed that people who track their expenses, even loosely, are 2x more likely to reach savings goals than those who don’t.
So no, writing down your GrabFood, Shopee hauls, and three different Spotify plans isn’t obsessive.
It’s called taking responsibility for your damn life.
Is your fear of becoming “too obsessed” with money just a clever way to avoid accountability?
Notion, But Make It Neuromasochistic
Let’s talk Notion.
It’s cute. It’s customizable. It’s the digital version of bullet journaling but with more emojis and less therapy.
But for all its visual flair, let’s be honest:
Some of those templates are a psychological maze disguised as productivity.
You end up spending more time color-coding your “Zero-Based Budget Linked Database Formula Page” than actually… budgeting.
One user on X (formerly Twitter) said:
“I spent 3 hours designing my Notion finance tracker. Then I forgot to log expenses for 3 weeks.”
Relatable.
Sometimes, the complexity of these tools makes us feel productive, while secretly just distracting us from the real problem: we’re scared to look our financial truth in the face.
Is your budget template actually helping you save, or just making your procrastination prettier?
Enter: The Unsexy, Unfiltered Power of Google Sheets
Now, this isn’t a sponsored piece.
But if it were, I’d like to thank the humble Google Sheets app on my phone, always there, never judging, never crashing mid-sum.
I built a tracker, nothing fancy. No bells, no pastel dashboards.
Just columns for income, expenses, goals, and debts. It calculates. It reveals.
It doesn’t seduce. It doesn’t pretend. It tells me the truth.
And that’s the thing.
In an age where we romanticize data but avoid real clarity, sometimes the real rebellion is simplicity that works.
Did it change my life overnight? No.
But now, I know exactly how much I spend on “sabaw” days and impulse Shopee checkouts. I know what I need to save for an emergency fund, and why I’ll never put off my health insurance contribution again.
If there was a way to see your entire financial life in one no-BS page, would you dare to look?
Are We Addicted to Control… or Afraid of Freedom?
Here’s a radical idea:
Maybe what we’re calling “budget obsession” is just the growing pains of a generation waking up.
Because for too long, money was a taboo, a stressor, a “bahala na” topic we’d rather shove in a drawer with our BIR forms and broken New Year’s resolutions.
But now? We’re trying.
Trying to do better.
Trying to unlearn bad money habits our parents passed down out of survival.
Trying to build wealth, slowly, deliberately, in-between 9–5s, burnout, and ₱180 per kilo of onions.
And sometimes, that looks like a spreadsheet on a Friday night.
What if your “budget obsession” is just your financial freedom finally knocking?
Wrapping Up…
Let’s be clear: budgeting won’t solve everything.
It won’t heal your childhood money trauma or guarantee early retirement.
But it can be your anchor.
A small, sacred practice in a world that profits off your distraction.
A quiet rebellion in a culture obsessed with spending and appearance.
And if you need a starting point?
Well, there’s a tracker I built. From one burned-out professional to another. It lives on a Google Sheet. It’s simple. It works. And you can find it at analizaamabini.link.
✨ Tip: Use it when you’re ready to see your life for what it really costs, and what it could be.
Have fun responsibly.