Why personal finance made more sense than email marketing today
- February is when a lot of small businesses finally see last year’s “small” decisions add up – subscriptions, fees, tiny vendor price bumps, impulse equipment buys, and unbilled time.
- Email marketing matters, but cash management is the system that keeps you alive long enough to benefit from marketing.
- I’m also seeing more owners burned out on complicated dashboards. They want a calm, repeatable habit that gives real control without turning them into a full-time bookkeeper.
The problem: money leaks are rarely dramatic
- Most small-business cash problems don’t start with one big mistake. They start with ten little ones that are easy to ignore because each one is “only” $12, $29, or $79.
- Those leaks hide in plain sight because they are scattered across: card charges, app renewals, shipping surcharges, bank fees, “temporary” tools, and vendor minimums.
- The worst part is psychological: once the leaks feel normal, you stop noticing them. You keep working harder to compensate, which is the expensive solution.
The workflow I actually use: a 30-minute weekly cash review
- This is not budgeting in the traditional sense. It is a weekly inspection loop.
- It works because it is frequent enough to catch patterns, but short enough that you will do it even during busy weeks.
- The goal is simple: make sure cash behavior matches business intent – not convenience or inertia.
Step 1 – Pick one “money truth” number and look at it first
- Before reports, before categorizing, before anything – I look at one number: cash on hand (all business accounts total).
- Why it works: it reduces denial. You can rationalize a lot of spending, but you cannot argue with “How much runway do I have if next month is weird?”
- If you want a quick rule: I like to know whether I have at least one month of operating expenses in cash. If not, I treat the week as “defensive driving.”
Step 2 – Reconcile transactions into three buckets only
- I do not start with detailed categories. I start with three buckets:
- Committed – things that keep the business running: payroll, rent, software I’d truly miss, insurance, hosting, professional fees.
- Variable – costs that scale with work: shipping, subcontractors, supplies, ads, merchant fees.
- Optional – everything else. Optional does not mean “bad.” It means “I can change it this month.”
- Why this works: most owners get lost arguing about whether a cost is “Marketing” or “Operations.” The three-bucket view cuts through that and highlights what you can actually influence.
- In practice, I’ll move a line item from Optional to Committed only after it proves it belongs there for a few months.
Step 3 – Flag any charge that violates one of three rules
- I use three simple rules that catch nearly every leak:
- Rule A: Surprise – “I did not expect this charge.”
- Rule B: Duplicate – “I already pay for something that does this.”
- Rule C: Drift – “This used to be $X and now it’s meaningfully higher.”
- Why these rules work: they are about attention, not math. Leaks thrive on low attention.
- Also, they are emotionally neutral. You are not judging yourself. You are running a system: find surprises, duplicates, and drift.
Step 4 – Create one “money note” per flag and schedule the fix
- This is the part most people skip. They notice a leak and think “I’ll deal with it later.” Later becomes never.
- So each flagged item becomes a tiny task with a date. Not a vague intention.
Example money note - Item: Project tool renewed at $48/mo - Flag: Duplicate (Rule B) - Question: Are we actually using it weekly? - Fix by: Friday 3pm - Outcome options: - Cancel - Downgrade plan - Keep, but remove another tool
- Why it works: you reduce decision fatigue. The “outcome options” line is surprisingly helpful – it reminds you there are only a few realistic moves.
Step 5 – Track it in a way you will not hate
- Spreadsheets are fine, but many owners abandon them because they feel like homework.
- If you want a desktop tool that behaves like a ledger and helps you stay consistent, iCash fits this workflow well because you can track accounts, categorize transactions, and run simple reports without turning it into a big production.
- I’m not talking about perfect accounting here. I’m talking about a practical management view you can maintain weekly.
- If you want to see what iCash is, here is the one link I’ll include: https://www.maxprog.com/icash/
A real example: the “$300 a month” that was actually $1,200
- A small studio I worked with thought their software spend was “about $300 a month.” They were not lying – they were guessing.
- We ran the weekly review for four weeks and found:
- Duplicate tools: two scheduling systems because one client “preferred it.” That client was gone, the tool stayed.
- Drift: a stock asset subscription had quietly jumped tiers when someone exceeded a download limit once, months earlier.
- Surprise: a domain renewal bundle that included add-ons nobody wanted.
- Total was closer to $1,200 a month.
- The fix was not heroic:
- Cancel one scheduling tool.
- Downgrade the stock plan and create a simple “asset request” rule: if someone needs more downloads, it requires a quick approval.
- Move domain renewals to a single registrar and turn off add-ons by default.
- Why this matters: they did not “save money” as a hobby. They bought back optionality. Suddenly they could hire a contractor for a rush month without stress.
What most people do instead (and why it fails)
- Once-a-year cleanup: you find mess when it is already large. The fixes feel painful, so you avoid them.
- Over-categorizing: you spend your limited attention on labeling instead of decisions.
- Relying on memory: you will forget recurring charges. Your vendors are counting on that.
- Confusing “profit” with “cash”: you can be profitable on paper and still short on cash because timing matters.
The part nobody says out loud: your calendar is a financial tool
- This habit works because it is scheduled. I treat it like a meeting with a demanding client.
- I do it the same day each week. Consistency beats intensity.
- I also schedule two quarterly sessions:
- Rates and pricing check: your costs drift. If prices never change, your margin shrinks silently.
- Vendor negotiation day: many vendors will offer a better rate if you ask nicely and can commit to a year – but only if you show up with numbers.
How to keep it simple when you are really busy
- If you are slammed, do the “minimum effective review”:
- Look at cash on hand.
- Scan the last 7 days of transactions.
- Flag only surprises and duplicates.
- Schedule the fixes.
- Even this minimalist version keeps you from drifting for months.
- Remember: you are not trying to be perfect. You are trying to stay awake.
Checklist
- Schedule a weekly 30-minute cash review on your calendar
- Start with cash on hand (all business accounts total)
- Sort transactions into Committed, Variable, Optional
- Flag anything that is a Surprise, Duplicate, or Drift
- Create one dated task per flagged item
- Review outcomes next week and keep the system moving
Actionable Takeaways
- Pick one day this week and run a 15-minute “surprises and duplicates” scan – do not categorize everything
- Cancel or downgrade one Optional expense before it renews again, even if it is small
- Set a repeating calendar event for the weekly review so it becomes a habit, not a heroic effort