1
A Square One Sample Budget
From your statements to your plan
01 — What You Send Me
3 months of spending. Bank exports, Amazon purchase history, Venmo history.
Date Merchant Bank's category Amount
03/02WINCO FOODS #4412Groceries-84.17
03/02CHEVRON 0 0 5 2Gas-61.40
03/03DOORDASH*PANDA EXPRESSGroceries-38.92
03/04NETFLIX.COMEntertainment-22.99
03/04AMZN MKTP US*2X8KJShopping-54.31
03/05CHIPOTLE 1138Restaurants-27.65
03/06UBER EATSGroceries-41.18
03/07SQ *THE COFFEE HOUSEUncategorized-6.75
03/08AMZN MKTP US*9QK2Shopping-31.08
…and 303 more
02 — Where you stand today
The leaks that silently undermine your financial goals
$515/mo
Restaurants, not groceries
50% of your "grocery" spend was takeout & delivery.
$52/mo
In forgotten subscriptions
5 services, never used.
$104/mo
Impulse buys on Amazon
$312/mo across 90 days — most purchses under $30.
$0/mo
Toward any goal
Nothing to savings, retirement, or debt.
Total budget leakage
Money slipping through your fingers every month
$671/mo
What this means in practice
$671/month is enough to max out a Roth IRA every year — do that for 30 years and you'd have $1.2 million. Instead, it's going to impulse buys and takeout. This isn't a judgment, just the reality: you're not living paycheck to paycheck, but these leaks are quietly draining your future.
03 — What changes with a square one plan
Same $5,218 take-home. Every dollar still spent — just spent with purpose.
WAS
NOW
Housing
Rent · utilities · insurance
$2,200
$2,200
Groceries
Cooking at home · meal prepping lunch
$1,018
$503
Transportation
Gas · insurance · upkeep
$300
$300
Restaurants & takeout
No longer disguised as grocery spend, still in the budget
$0
$100
Subscriptions
Kept 4, cut 5 you forgot were there
$100
$48
Misc expenses
The odds and ends of daily life
$900
$900
Sinking funds
Car repairs · gifts · annual bills
$700
$700
Unassigned savings
Not the leftovers, an intentional line item
$571
SAME INCOME. NOTHING ADDED.
You still have a takeout budget, you still have Netflix and Spotify, but now you also have $6,852/year to build your future with. Pay down debt, save for a home, investment for retirement - you're in control now.
Illustrative sample. Your plan is built from your real numbers.