7 Often-Ignored Signs Your Spending Habits Are Unhealthy

Have you ever felt like you’ve been working like a horse, pulling overtime until late at night, but at the end of the month, your bank balance just ‘passes through’? It feels like you just got paid yesterday, but suddenly the remaining balance is just a minimal digit that makes your heart race every time you’re about to pay with QRIS. This condition often isn’t because your salary is small, but rather because of several signs of unhealthy spending happening behind the scenes of your life. The problem is, these signs are often ‘slow leaks’—not felt immediately, but eventually, they can sink your financial boat. Understanding these signs isn’t to scare you, but as a form of self-care so that your future isn’t burdened by today’s mistakes.

Early Detection: 7 Signs Your Spending Is No Longer Healthy

Many of us feel our finances are fine as long as we can still eat and hang out. In fact, financial health is much deeper than just ‘still having money.’ Here are 7 main indicators you need to watch out for as signs of unhealthy spending in your daily life.

1. Stagnant or Even Decreasing Savings Balance

This is the most obvious sign yet the most often excused. If your savings balance at the end of the month this year is the same as last year, or even continues to dwindle despite your income rising, this is a loud alarm. This phenomenon is often called lifestyle creep or lifestyle inflation, where every increase in income is followed by an increase in the standard of living that isn’t actually urgent.

Factually, only a few young people consistently set aside money. If you’re one of those who frequently take money from savings to cover monthly living costs, that’s a very real sign of unhealthy spending.

2. Installments and Consumptive Debt Exceeding 30% of Income

Borrowing for productive assets (like business capital) might still make sense. However, if your installments are dominated by consumptive items like the latest phone, branded clothes, or even paylater balances for fancy meals, you need to be careful. A healthy debt ratio is at most 30% of net income. If your installment figure has hit 50% or more, you’re walking on a thin wire that could snap at any time.

3. The ‘Ghost Spending’ Phenomenon: Money Gone Without Knowing Where

Do you often mutter, “Man, where did that million I had in my wallet yesterday go?” or “How come my e-wallet balance suddenly only has ten thousand left?” This is what’s called ghost spending. Small expenses like parking, bank admin fees, food delivery service fees, to streaming app subscriptions that are rarely watched, if collected, can become a very large amount. Inability to track small money outflows is a sign of unhealthy spending because it shows a lack of control over your own assets.

4. Frequently Borrowing Money to Cover Daily Needs

If in the third week of every month you’ve started sending messages to friends with the sentence “Can I borrow a hundred first for food until payday,” this is an indicator that your financial management is a mess. Relying on debt for daily operational needs shows that your current lifestyle exceeds your actual financial ability. This is no longer about urgent needs, but about the inability to set priorities.

5. Having No Emergency Fund At All

Many young people feel an emergency fund isn’t important yet because they feel healthy or still live with their parents. In fact, an emergency fund is the main foundation of financial health. Without an emergency fund, even one unexpected event (e.g., broken phone, motorcycle overhaul, or sudden illness) will immediately plunge you into a debt hole. If you haven’t started, immediately check the guide to preparing an emergency fund so you have a strong safety net.

6. Self-reward That Turns Into Self-destruction

We often justify impulsive spending under the guise of “Self-reward, I’ve worked hard.” There’s nothing wrong with appreciating yourself, but if every little bit of stress immediately leads to buying expensive things, it’s no longer a reward, but an emotional escape that ruins your wallet.

Lifestyle allocation should ideally be kept at a reasonable figure. If you spend more than 20% of your income just for fun while savings are zero, that’s a fatal sign of unhealthy spending.

7. Feeling Anxious Every Time You Have to Check Your Account Balance

Fear of looking at reality is a very strong psychological sign. If you feel anxious, cold sweat, or keep procrastinating on checking account mutations because you’re afraid to see how much money is gone, it means subconsciously you realize something is wrong. This financial anxiety usually arises because we feel we have no control over our own spending.

Fatal Mistakes When Trying to Fix Your Finances

After realizing the signs of unhealthy spending, many people panic and try to fix the situation in the wrong way. Good intentions without the right strategy can actually worsen your physical and mental condition. Here are some mistakes you should avoid:

Cutting Food Costs Too Extremely

Many people think, “Okay, this month I’ll just eat instant noodles once a day to save.” This is a dangerous short-term strategy. Cutting food costs extremely until you get sick will actually trigger new, larger expenses: medical bills. Health is your most valuable financial asset.

Stopping Spending Totally Without Evaluation

Doing a spending freeze for a week might sound cool, but if after that you ‘revenge spend’ by buying more, the result is zero. The key to fixing finances isn’t stopping spending, but evaluating which categories are actually the leaks. You need to apply a realistic simple budgeting method to last in the long run.

Not Recording Small Expenses Because They’re Considered Trivial

Many people only record motorcycle installments or rent, but ignore parking fees, street food snacks, or bank transfer fees. In fact, these small expenses are most often the cause of signs of unhealthy spending. To start the right habit, try to understand the practical way to record daily finances so no more money disappears without a trace.

Following Someone Else’s Budgeting Strategy That Doesn’t Fit

The 50/30/20 strategy might work for Person A whose salary is already double digits, but might not be suitable for you who are still starting a career in a big city with high living costs. Forcing yourself to follow a minimalist lifestyle like an influencer without looking at your personal context will only make you stressed and eventually give up halfway.

Scenario: From ‘Slow Leaks’ to Measured Savings

How to turn bad habits into healthy ones? Let’s look at the journey scenario of Budi, a young worker who just realized he has many signs of unhealthy spending in his life.

Week 1: Finding the ‘Leaking’ Culprit

Budi starts using MoneyKu to record every expense, no matter how small. At the end of the first week, he’s surprised to find that he spent Rp200,000 just on food app service fees because he was too lazy to cook. He also found 3 streaming app subscriptions he rarely watches.

Real Step: Budi immediately cancels 2 streaming subscriptions and resolves to cook his own rice at home.

Week 2: Starting to Categorize Expenses

With the category visualization feature in MoneyKu, Budi sees that 40% of his income goes to the “Lifestyle/Entertainment” category. This is clearly a sign of unhealthy spending.

Real Step: Budi starts determining a maximum spending limit for hanging out on weekends. He doesn’t forbid himself from hanging out, but he sets a clear limit (budget).

Week 3: Determining Safe Daily Spending Limits

After knowing his average basic needs, Budi gets a “Daily Safe Limit” figure. If today he snacks more, then tomorrow he must be more thrifty.

Real Step: Budi feels calmer because every expense has its own “home.” He’s no longer anxious when having to swipe a card or pay with QRIS because he knows he’s still within the safe limit.

Result: Anxiety Reduced

At the end of the month, for the first time in a year, Budi still has enough remaining balance to save. The signs of unhealthy spending that used to haunt him are now disappearing, replaced by confidence because he is in full control.

How to Get Back on a Healthy Financial Track

Fixing finances isn’t about being stingy to yourself, but about being more mindful of where your money goes. Here are practical steps to get back to being financially healthy:

Use Low-Friction Recording Tools

One reason people are lazy to record finances is because the process is complicated. Use apps like MoneyKu designed for fast recording. With the fast logging feature, you can record expenses in seconds right after the transaction happens. The smaller the barrier to recording, the more consistently you’ll do it.

Review Weekly Spending Summary Visuals

Don’t wait until the end of the month to evaluate your finances. Use your free time on Sunday to look at a visual summary of your spending over the past week. Does the eating out category still dominate? Are there unnecessary impulsive expenses? Weekly reviews give you a chance to brake before it’s too late at the end of the month.

Start with Small Saving Plans to Build Habits

Don’t immediately set a target of saving millions if your balance is still often minus. Start with a saving goals feature or small-scale saving plans. For example, saving Rp10,000 per day for an emergency fund. Success in reaching small targets will provide dopamine that makes you want to keep saving.

Use Reminder Features So You Don’t Go Overboard

We often lose ourselves while walking in the mall or seeing double-date promos on marketplaces. Utilizing spending limit reminders is very effective to prevent the reappearance of signs of unhealthy spending. If the app tells you your hangout budget this month only has Rp50,000 left, you’ll think twice about ordering an extra coffee.

Always remember that the ultimate goal of managing money is peace of mind. For that, don’t hesitate to keep looking for financial management tips for young people relevant to your current condition.

FAQ: Answers for Your Financial Woes

Here are some frequently asked questions from friends struggling to improve their financial condition.

What percentage should ideally be saved each month?

In theory, many experts suggest 20% of net income. However, if you’re a beginner and feel that figure is too heavy, don’t force yourself. Start from 5% or even just 1%, the most important thing is consistency. As the signs of unhealthy spending in your life decrease, this percentage will naturally increase.

Does a daily coffee habit automatically make finances unhealthy?

Not necessarily. Daily coffee becomes a problem if the money is taken from an emergency fund or if your coffee cost is greater than your basic food costs. If you are indeed a coffee lover, put those costs into the “Lifestyle” budget and reduce spending in other categories to stay balanced. What makes it unhealthy is unplanned spending, not the hobby.

How to distinguish between an urgent need and a momentary want?

Try using the 24-hour rule. If you see something you want, wait 24 hours before buying it. Usually, after a day has passed, the intense desire to have the item will fade. If after 24 hours you still feel you need it and the budget is there, then buy it. This is a powerful way to detect if it’s an impulsive want or a real need.

What should be done first if you already have a lot of debt?

Step one: Stop borrowing more. Step two: List all your debts from the one with the highest interest or the smallest amount (snowball method). Step three: Focus on allocating remaining income to pay them off one by one while keeping daily spending as minimal as possible. Don’t try to save aggressively before your consumptive debt is paid off, because debt interest is usually much higher than savings interest.

Why does manual recording often fail halfway?

Manual recording in a book or spreadsheet often fails because it takes time and extra discipline. Sometimes we forget to bring the book, or are too lazy to open the laptop after a tiring day at work. This is why lightweight mobile apps are highly recommended. With MoneyKu, you can record on the go, even using voice assistance or photo receipts to make it more practical. Remove the friction, and the habit will form.

Facing the reality that we have signs of unhealthy spending is indeed uncomfortable. But, this is a very brave first step to change your future. Don’t wait until the balance is zero or debt piles up to start acting. Remember, healthy finances aren’t about how much you earn, but how well you manage what you have. Start today, start small, and let good habits lead you to true financial freedom.