I Tracked Every Dollar I Spent for 12 Months — Here’s What I Learned About My Savings Rate
Last year I decided to do an experiment: record absolutely every expense, from rent and mortgage payments to coffee from the vending machine. After 12 months, I have some conclusions that may help you.
Results (in percentages, not absolute amounts)
Average savings rate: 34% of net income
Best month: 48% (August — modest vacation, no big expenses)
Worst month: 12% (December — gifts, holidays, car insurance)
The variation between months is much greater than I thought
Where the money went (top 5 categories)
Housing (rent/mortgage + utilities): ~35% of expenses
Food (supermarket + restaurant): ~22%
Transportation (fuel + maintenance): ~12%
Subscriptions and recurring (telephone, internet, streaming, gym): ~8%
Health (doctor, pharmacy, tests): ~5%
The remaining ~18% is fragmented into dozens of small categories — this is where money is lost without you realizing it.
What surprised me
Recurring “small” expenses are budget killers. 15 RON per day on coffee + snack = 450 RON/month = 5,400 RON/year. I’m not saying don’t drink coffee, but at least know how much the habit costs.
The supermarket is a separate budget. I discovered that the monthly variation in shopping is ±30%. Just by making a list and sticking to it, I reduced by ~15%.
The savings rate fluctuates enormously. Everyone talks about “saving 20%”, but in reality you have months of 40% and months of 10%. The average counts, not the individual month.
Forgotten subscriptions. I found 3 active subscriptions that I no longer used. 87 RON/month = 1,044 RON/year for nothing.
How I did the tracking
The first 3 months with a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Then I switched to a personal finance app that automatically imports CSV from the bank (BT, BCR, ING, BRD, Raiffeisen, Revolut — all have export). The difference was enormous — from 20 min/day on the spreadsheet to 2 minutes per week.
Savings rate formula:
(Net Income - Total Expenses) / Net Income × 100
A rate of 20%+ means you’re already above the European average. Romanians save on average ~12-15% of their income (Eurostat data), so if you’re below that, you’re probably already above average.
If you want to calculate your own rate, I can recommend the tool I used — it’s made specifically for Romania with categories in Romanian and import from local banks. Ask in the comments.
Note: I’m not a financial advisor. The percentages above are from my personal experience and can vary enormously. Every situation is different — don’t take my numbers as a universal reference.
What is your savings rate? And which category surprised you the most?
Last year I decided to do an experiment: record absolutely every expense, from rent and mortgage payments to coffee from the vending machine. After 12 months, I have some conclusions that may help you.
Results (in percentages, not absolute amounts)
Average savings rate: 34% of net income
Best month: 48% (August — modest vacation, no big expenses)
Worst month: 12% (December — gifts, holidays, car insurance)
The variation between months is much greater than I thought
Where the money went (top 5 categories)
Housing (rent/mortgage + utilities): ~35% of expenses
Food (supermarket + restaurant): ~22%
Transportation (fuel + maintenance): ~12%
Subscriptions and recurring (telephone, internet, streaming, gym): ~8%
Health (doctor, pharmacy, tests): ~5%
The remaining ~18% is fragmented into dozens of small categories — this is where money is lost without you realizing it.
What surprised me
Recurring “small” expenses are budget killers. 15 RON per day on coffee + snack = 450 RON/month = 5,400 RON/year. I’m not saying don’t drink coffee, but at least know how much the habit costs.
The supermarket is a separate budget. I discovered that the monthly variation in shopping is ±30%. Just by making a list and sticking to it, I reduced by ~15%.
The savings rate fluctuates enormously. Everyone talks about “saving 20%”, but in reality you have months of 40% and months of 10%. The average counts, not the individual month.
Forgotten subscriptions. I found 3 active subscriptions that I no longer used. 87 RON/month = 1,044 RON/year for nothing.
How I did the tracking
The first 3 months with a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Then I switched to a personal finance app that automatically imports CSV from the bank (BT, BCR, ING, BRD, Raiffeisen, Revolut — all have export). The difference was enormous — from 20 min/day on the spreadsheet to 2 minutes per week.
Savings rate formula:
(Net Income - Total Expenses) / Net Income × 100
A rate of 20%+ means you’re already above the European average. Romanians save on average ~12-15% of their income (Eurostat data), so if you’re below that, you’re probably already above average.
If you want to calculate your own rate, I can recommend the tool I used — it’s made specifically for Romania with categories in Romanian and import from local banks. Ask in the comments.
Note: I’m not a financial advisor. The percentages above are from my personal experience and can vary enormously. Every situation is different — don’t take my numbers as a universal reference.
What is your savings rate? And which category surprised you the most?
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