Analyzing Spending Patterns

This guide shows you how to use Arthalekha's filtering, tagging, and export features to understand your spending patterns and make informed financial decisions.

Why Analyze Spending?

Understanding where your money goes helps you:

• Identify areas of overspending
• Find opportunities to save
• Make informed budget decisions
• Track progress toward goals
• Spot unusual expenses

Using Tags for Analysis

Set Up Analysis-Friendly Tags

Create tags that enable meaningful analysis:

By Category:

Food, Transport, Bills, Shopping, Entertainment, Health, Education

By Necessity:

Essential, Important, Optional, Luxury

By Frequency:

Daily, Weekly, Monthly, One-time

Tag Everything

For analysis to work, tag all transactions:

• Apply at least one category tag
• Add additional tags for more insight
• Be consistent with tagging

Basic Analysis Techniques

Technique 1: Category Spending

See how much you spend per category:

1. Go to Expenses
2. Filter by tag: "Food"
3. Set date range: This month
4. View total food expenses

Repeat for each category to build a spending breakdown.

Technique 2: Month-over-Month Comparison

Compare spending across months:

1. Filter by tag: "Food"
2. Set date range: January
3. Note the total
4. Change date range: February
5. Compare totals

Technique 3: Person Analysis

See individual spending:

1. Filter by person: "Arjun"
2. Set date range: This month
3. View all their expenses
4. Add tag filter for specific categories

Technique 4: Account Analysis

See where money goes from each account:

1. Filter by account: "Credit Card"
2. Set date range as needed
3. See all credit card expenses

Deep Dive Analysis

Finding Your Top Expenses

Steps to find biggest spending areas:

1. Export all expenses for the period
2. Open in spreadsheet software
3. Sort by amount (highest first)
4. Review top 10-20 expenses
5. Look for patterns

Tracking Subscriptions

Find all your subscriptions:

1. Create a "Subscription" tag
2. Tag all subscription expenses
3. Filter by "Subscription" tag
4. Export and review
5. Total your monthly subscription costs

Identifying Impulse Spending

Look for unplanned purchases:

1. Review expenses without "Essential" tag
2. Sort by date to see patterns
3. Note emotional or impulse purchases
4. Calculate monthly impulse spending

Monthly Analysis Routine

Week 1: Quick Check

At month start:

• Review previous month's total spending
• Compare to income
• Note major expenses

Week 2: Category Review

Mid-month:

• Check each major category
• See if on track with typical spending
• Identify any unusual spikes

Week 3: Trend Analysis

Later in month:

• Compare to previous months
• Look for increasing trends
• Celebrate decreasing trends

Week 4: Detailed Analysis

Month end:

• Full category breakdown
• Export for detailed review
• Set goals for next month

Using Exports for Advanced Analysis

Export Process

1. Filter to the data you want
2. Click Export/Download CSV
3. Open in Excel or Google Sheets
4. Analyze with spreadsheet tools

Spreadsheet Analysis Ideas

Pivot Table by Category:

Rows: Tag/Category
Values: Sum of Amount
Result: Total per category

Monthly Trend Chart:

Rows: Month
Columns: Categories
Values: Sum of Amount
Result: Category spending over time

Daily Average:

Total expenses ÷ Days in month = Daily average spending

Key Metrics to Track

Essential Metrics

Metric	How to Calculate
Savings Rate	(Income - Expenses) ÷ Income × 100
Essential %	Essential Expenses ÷ Total Expenses × 100
Food %	Food Expenses ÷ Total Expenses × 100
Fixed Expenses	Sum of Rent + Bills + EMIs

Target Benchmarks

General guidelines (adjust for your situation):

Category	Suggested % of Income
Housing (Rent/EMI)	25-30%
Food	10-15%
Transportation	10-15%
Savings	20%+
Everything else	30-35%

Identifying Problems

Red Flags to Watch For

Spending > Income:

• Total expenses exceed total income
• Dipping into savings monthly
• Increasing credit card balance

Category Creep:

• A category steadily increasing month over month
• Small increases that add up

Subscription Overload:

• Total subscriptions > 10% of income
• Services you don't use
• Forgotten subscriptions

Investigation Steps

When you spot a problem:

1. Identify: Which category is the issue?
2. Drill Down: Filter to see specific transactions
3. Analyze: Look for patterns or specific causes
4. Plan: Decide on action steps
5. Track: Monitor the change next month

Setting and Tracking Goals

Goal Types

Reduction Goals:

• "Reduce food spending by 10%"
• "Cut subscriptions to under ₹2,000"
• "No impulse purchases over ₹1,000"

Savings Goals:

• "Save ₹20,000 monthly"
• "Build emergency fund to ₹3,00,000"
• "Save for vacation: ₹50,000 by December"

Tracking Progress

Monthly progress check:

1. Filter relevant expenses
2. Compare to goal
3. Calculate progress percentage
4. Adjust approach if needed

Practical Analysis Examples

Example 1: "Where Does My Money Go?"

Question: What am I spending money on?

Analysis:

1. Export all expenses for the month
2. Create pivot table by tag/category
3. Sort by amount (highest first)
4. Create pie chart for visualization

Result: Clear breakdown of spending by category

Example 2: "Am I Spending Too Much on Food?"

Question: Is my food spending reasonable?

Analysis:

1. Filter expenses by "Food" tag
2. Get total for the month
3. Compare to income (should be ~10-15%)
4. Break down: Groceries vs Restaurants

Result: Clear view of food spending with sub-categories

Example 3: "How Much Do I Spend Daily?"

Question: What's my daily burn rate?

Analysis:

1. Get total expenses for month
2. Divide by days in month
3. Compare to daily income
4. Identify high-spending days

Result: Daily average helps budget day-to-day

Example 4: "Are My Expenses Growing?"

Question: Is my spending increasing over time?

Analysis:

1. Export 6-12 months of expenses
2. Calculate monthly totals
3. Plot on chart
4. Look for upward trend

Result: Trend line shows if spending is growing

Taking Action

Based on Analysis

Turn insights into action:

Finding	Action
Too much on dining out	Set restaurant budget, cook more
Forgotten subscriptions	Cancel unused services
Impulse shopping	Create waiting period rule
Growing expenses	Identify specific causes

Review and Adjust

After taking action:

1. Continue tracking
2. Review results next month
3. Adjust approach as needed
4. Celebrate improvements

Tools and Templates

Monthly Analysis Checklist

• Total income vs expenses
• Savings rate calculation
• Top 5 expense categories
• Comparison to last month
• Check subscriptions
• Review goals progress
• Set next month targets

Annual Review Points

• Total annual income
• Total annual expenses
• Annual savings
• Year-over-year comparison
• Goal achievement review
• Next year planning

Related Features

• Filtering - Filter data for analysis
• Tags - Categorization for analysis
• Exports - Export for detailed analysis
• Dashboard - Visual summaries