Motivation • • 7 min read

Personal Motivation – A Story by the Creator of Gnar.li Budget

Your bank tells you what you can afford. You tell every dollar its job—but sometimes life throws you a curveball that makes you question whether you'll ever get back on track.

This is my story. It's not a story about perfection or having all the answers. It's a story about hitting rock bottom, going back to basics, and building a system that actually works. If you've ever felt like your finances were a train-wreck, this might resonate with you.

The Financial Train-Wreck

We've all had setbacks. Maybe you've experienced one, or maybe one is coming your way. Mine was a divorce.

Like learning to play Monopoly or The Game of Life as a kid, I thought I understood how money worked. But when life threw me a major curveball, I discovered I was playing a game I didn't fully understand. The rules were different when it was real money, real bills, and real consequences.

Suddenly, I was looking at my financial situation and realizing I had no idea where I stood. My net worth was negative. I was spending more than I earned, and I didn't have a clear picture of where the money was going. It was like trying to navigate in the dark—I knew I was moving, but I had no idea if I was moving forward or backward.

The wake-up call: When you're borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, you're not in control. You're reacting. And when you're reacting, you're not making progress—you're just surviving.

Back to the Basics

I had to start over. Not with a fancy app or complicated system, but with the fundamentals: tracking receipts, planning to live within my means, and chasing the simple goal of spending less than I earned.

Tracking receipts: Every coffee, every meal, every purchase. I wrote it down. I kept receipts. I logged everything manually because I needed to see where every dollar was going.

Planning to live within my means: This meant knowing exactly what I earned, exactly what I needed to spend, and making sure the first number was bigger than the second. It sounds simple, but when you're not tracking it, it's easy to lose sight of.

Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul: I did it. I'm not proud of it, but I did it. And I learned that when you're in that cycle, you're not building wealth—you're just moving debt around. The only way out is to break the cycle, and that starts with knowing exactly where you stand.

The goal: Spend less than I earn. That's it. Simple, but not easy. It required discipline, tracking, and making intentional decisions about every dollar.

Five Years with a Spreadsheet

I managed a spreadsheet for about five years. It wasn't fancy. It wasn't automated. But it worked.

Every month, I'd:
- Import my transactions
- Categorize them
- Compare what I spent to what I budgeted
- Adjust for the next month

It was tedious. It was time-consuming. But it gave me something I'd never had before: clarity. I could see exactly where my money was going. I could see patterns. I could make informed decisions instead of guessing.

The turning point: After about two years, I started seeing progress. My net worth was still negative, but it was getting less negative. I was spending less than I earned. I was building small savings. I was finding my way back to solid ground.

By year five, I wasn't just surviving—I was thriving. My balance sheet was improving every year. I had flipped from negative net worth to positive. I had a system that worked, and I was in control.

Building the App for Myself

The spreadsheet worked, but it was a pain. I spent hours every month copying, pasting, categorizing, and reconciling. I thought: "There has to be a better way."

So I decided to build an app for myself based on the spreadsheet that had guided my finances and habits. I wanted the same clarity and control, but without the manual work.

The vision: An app that would:
- Import transactions from CSV files (no bank connections—I wanted to stay in control)
- Automatically categorize based on rules I defined
- Show me exactly where I stood at any moment
- Help me plan ahead, not just track the past
- Give me the same sense of control I had with my spreadsheet

I built it for me. I used it for a year. And it worked. It gave me the same clarity and control as my spreadsheet, but with a fraction of the time investment.

Building It for Others

After using the app for a year, I realized: "This works. This actually works." And I thought: "Maybe other people could benefit from this too."

So I built it out into an actual app that others could use. I added features that made sense. I refined the interface. I made it something I'd be proud to share.

But here's the thing: Even if no one ever uses this app, I will use it for the rest of my life because it works.

My balance sheet improves every year. I've flipped from negative net worth to positive. I'm not just surviving—I'm building wealth. And it all started with going back to basics and tracking every dollar.

What I Learned

1. Clarity Beats Complexity

The most important thing isn't having the fanciest system—it's having a system that gives you clarity. When you know exactly where every dollar is going, you can make informed decisions. When you're guessing, you're flying blind.

2. Control Beats Convenience

I could have used an app that automatically syncs with my bank. But I wanted control. I wanted to review every transaction. I wanted to decide what data entered the system. That control gave me something auto-sync couldn't: mindfulness and intentionality.

3. Progress Beats Perfection

I didn't get it right the first month. Or the second. Or the third. But I kept tracking. I kept adjusting. I kept learning. Progress, not perfection, is what matters.

4. Intentionality Beats Auto-Pilot

When you let your bank balance tell you what you can afford, you're on auto-pilot. When you tell every dollar its job before the month starts, you're in command. That shift from reactive to proactive changed everything.

The Future: Financial Independence

My balance sheet improves every year. I've gone from negative net worth to positive. But I'm not done.

Future features I'm planning include:

  • Financial Independence Number: Calculate exactly how much you need to save to reach financial independence
  • Saving and Investment Goals: Set specific targets and track progress toward financial independence
  • Long-term Projections: See how your current habits will impact your future net worth

These aren't just features—they're tools to help you move from surviving to thriving, from reactive to proactive, from hoping to knowing.

Why This Matters

If you're reading this and you're in a financial train-wreck, I want you to know: You can recover. You can rebuild. You can flip from negative to positive.

It starts with going back to basics:
- Track every dollar
- Spend less than you earn
- Make intentional decisions
- Build a system that works for you

It's not about perfection. It's about progress. It's about taking control, one dollar at a time.

The Bottom Line

Your bank tells you what you can afford. You tell every dollar its job.

I built this app because I needed it. I use it because it works. And I'm sharing it because maybe, just maybe, it can help you the way it helped me.

From financial train-wreck to positive net worth. From reactive to proactive. From surviving to thriving.

It's possible. I'm living proof.

Ready to take control of your financial future? Start tracking every dollar, assign each one a job, and watch your balance sheet improve year after year. The journey starts with a single decision: to go back to basics and build a system that works.

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