What Is Kakeibo? The Japanese Budgeting Method That Could Save You Thousands

You’ve already Marie Kondo’d your closet. Now we’ve got a new (and equally brilliant) Japanese organizational tactic called Kakeibo for you to test out. What sets it apart? Instead of saving you space, this concept is designed to save you oodles of money.

Basically, it’s a 100-year-old combination of bullet journaling and financial mindfulness. Every month, you sit down with a pretty set of pens and a journal (versus an Excel spreadsheet, gross) and give yourself a bird’s-eye view of your spending and saving goals—with a focus on four very specific pillars.

The first one is survival (aka things like rent or medical or groceries that you have to pay for to survive); the next is optional (eating out, shopping for new clothes, etc.); then there’s culture (your Netflix subscription, movie tickets); and, finally, extra (birthday gifts for friends or repairs you weren’t expecting to shell out for).

You also have to ask yourself four questions. Every month, you need to put in writing the answers to the following: “How much money do you have?” “How much money would you like to save?” “How much are you actually spending?” and “How can you improve on that?” That’s it!

One Japanese financial blogger said the practice helps people save as much as 35 percent a month. Damn. 

BRB, buying a money journal.