FINANCIAL_AUTOPSY

> INITIATING PROTOCOL: MICRO_AUDIT
> TOOL: EXCEL SPREADSHEET
> RESOLUTION: ₹1.00
> OBJECTIVE: Find all funds leaking from the system.

// THE BLIND SPOTS

We know our Rent. We know our EMI. We ignore the "Chai/Sutta/Snack" costs. "It's just ₹20," we say. I decided to track every single transaction for 30 days. No rounding down.

// THE DATA (WEEK 1)

I felt like a miser. Standing at a pan shop, typing "₹15 - Mint" into my phone. But the act of recording it changed behaviour.
Observation 1: The Convenience Tax. I spent ₹450 on "Delivery Fees" in week 1. That is ₹1,800/month. That is a gym membership. Gone. Just for laziness.

// THE DATA (WEEK 2-3)

The shocking category emerged. It wasn't alcohol. It wasn't clothes. It was "Boredom Beverages." Coffees, juices, sodas consumed not because I was thirsty, but because I was standing around.

₹4,200 on liquid sugar. That is an airline ticket. That is 20 books. I was literally drinking my vacation fund.

// THE SUBSCRIPTION CREEP

I found 3 subscriptions I forgot about. 1. An App I downloaded in 2023 (₹199/mo). 2. A cloud storage tier I don't use (₹130/mo). 3. A magazine I don't read (₹500/yr). Total Waste: ₹4,400/year. This is "Zombie Money." Dead but still eating your brain.

// THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TRACKING

When you track, the pain of paying returns. Credit cards numb the pain. You swipe, you get the dopamine, you deal with the bill later. Logging it manually forces you to acknowledge the cost in the moment. By Day 20, I stopped buying random things simply because I was too lazy to open the spreadsheet to log it. Friction is a powerful saving tool.

// THE RESULTS

• >> Total Spent: ₹XX,XXX
• >> Waste Identified: ₹8,000 (approx).
• >> The "Latte Factor" is real, but in India, it's the "Swiggy Factor."

// CONCLUSION

You don't need to do this forever. You will go crazy. But do it for 30 days. It is an MRI scan for your finances. You will find tumors (bad habits) you didn't know existed.