V&C Spending Audit

Your PPF — Values and Cents

Values and Cents

Your PPF

Past · Present · Future

The money we make only goes to 1 of 3 places — toward our past, our present, or our future.

This exercise will give you a snapshot of where your money goes. To get started, you'll need your current monthly income and a spending snapshot.

Add your current monthly take-home pay below.

What actually hits your bank account each month after taxes and any pre-tax deductions.

$

If you contribute to a 401k or other pre-tax account, that money never reaches your bank account — it's already working for your future. Note it separately and give yourself credit for it.

What do you actually value?

Before moving on, let's get a picture of what's important to you — irrespective of your finances.

Here are a few prompts to get you thinking. Consider each one carefully:

Imagine you woke up and had the perfect day. What did you do? Who did you spend time with?

Think about the last time you felt genuinely content. What were you doing? Who were you with?

If all of your obligations disappeared tomorrow, what would you do?

What moments from the past year felt the most worthwhile? Not the cost — the experiences.

Five years from now, what would you regret not having made room for?

Name 3–5 things that come to mind.

Examples: family, adventure, creativity, faith, health, connection, learning, service, freedom, rest

Past spending — money going toward your past self

Car payments, credit card minimums, student loans, medical debt, personal loans. Every dollar here is an obligation to a past event.

Enter your monthly minimum payments — not your current balances.

Past total$0

Present spending — your life right now

Pull up a spending report for the most recent full month — wherever you put most of your spending. Have the system break down your expenses by category and add those here. Be sure to include your regular bills as well: rent/mortgage, groceries, utilities, etc.

If you know you have irregular expenses you plan for but don't pay monthly, use the table below to estimate their monthly equivalent.

Converting irregular bills to monthly

Paid twice a year

÷ 6

Paid quarterly

÷ 4

Paid annually

÷ 12

Examples: car insurance paid every 6 months, zoo or museum memberships, Amazon Prime, professional dues, holiday spending

Present total$0

Future spending — your later self

How much did you contribute to your savings or investments during the last full month? Include savings accounts, investment accounts, emergency fund contributions, and Roth IRA contributions. Do not include pre-tax 401k here — that was captured in your take-home pay adjustment.

Future total$0

Unaccounted

Money not yet assigned to a category

$0

If this isn't zero, either there's spending you haven't captured yet, or money is quietly accumulating. Try to get to zero — every dollar should have an intentional destination.

Now compare what you said you value to what you're actually spending on. Find 1–3 items that align. Find 1–3 that don't. Be honest — this is for you.

One thing you will do

Not a goal. Not something you'll stop doing. One thing you will actively do — this week — that moves your spending closer to what you actually value.

I'll put $500 more toward my student loans this month.

I'll set up automatic Roth IRA contributions to pull $200 into an investment account.

I'll add an automatic savings transfer for $100 every payday.

I'll set up a meeting with HR to begin 401k contributions.

I will...

Knowledge isn't enough. Write it down, tell someone, and do it.

Save your snapshot

Save this page as a PDF — circles and all. Come back in 6–12 months and do it again. Your results over time are the real story.

When the print dialog opens, choose Save as PDF. Works on any device.

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