I posted in a thread on falling off the YNAB wagon, but on reflection I'd like to get deeper into why I am not tracking. The truth is, I used to micro track, it was very rewarding, and I miss it. I don't mind doing it on paper or computer, I love writing my own spreadsheets, I used to be a monument to wall charts. But I got FI before I got married, and then the shtf, financially speaking.
I have a DH who 1. is not on board with this and 2. who buys things constantly. I do the majority of the "real" shopping - primarily food - and probably go out for things twice a week, while I don't think he has gone a single day without buying at least two things in the ten years we've been married. It's a rare day something doesn't arrive in the mail. Weekends it's not unusual for him to run 10 errands, each one some fussy multiple receipt - get gas, plus a diet coke and a key chain. Go to Lowes for three specialty washers, pick up lightbulbs we don't need plus an as-seen-on-tv weeding gadget. Go get a new motorcycle tire and come home with a new helmet and a pair of heated socks, in July that turn out to be the wrong size in December. Times five. He's the cherry on my cake in other ways, and we agreed early on that there would be no debt in this marriage, but frankly, he's the Nair on my mustache.
Do you think microtracking would be useful in my case? I want to, but I get soooo bogged down with all these purchases. Tracking what he's buying feels intrusive, it's more or less impossible, and it also depressed the crap out of me. This earn-to-spend mentality makes me emotionally ill, I get so upset when I find a way to save money, like using RW for the phone, only to hear him tell me that's great, because now he's got an extra $60 a month to spend on hobbies (or, as I sourly think of it, buying more shit). On the other hand, tracking only what happens to my own money feels like chipping. He put the gas in the car, I ate some of those chocolate bars he bought at Walmart even though I wouldn't have bought them myself, etc. WWYD??