The Daily Expenses Worth Revisiting, So You Can Prioritise What Matters

Queenie Tan is the creator of Invest With Queenie, a finance educator, author of The Fun Finance Formula and co-founder of budgeting app Bilroo. She creates practical, relatable money content to help Australians feel more confident with budgeting, investing and building a life they actually enjoy.​ In partnership with ING, she's here to help you navigate those everyday money dilemmas in 2026 and beyond. 

It’s true that from little things, big things grow. The same goes for our spending habits. ING commissioned research in 2026 that found that one in 3 Aussies surveyed felt guilty about their spending in 2025, with three in 10 planning to cut back on takeaway and coffees (32%), dining out (31%), and social drinking (27%) to manage their budget. 

Small daily expenses (like those $6 coffees) can seriously impact your budget and savings goals, because no single transaction feels dramatic. But over time, they accumulate. 

The good news is that you don't have to give up everything you love. Below, I'm sharing my favourite ways to review your spending without guilt, keep the purchases that genuinely add value to your life and redirect the rest towards the goals that matter most.  

The Big Costs Of Small Purchases

Earlier this year, I spent over $600 on clothes in one month, through purchases of $50 or $100 here and there. In another month, I had an ordinary night out at the pub with friends, which tallied up to $400, after buying a few rounds of drinks and ordering a taxi home. 

Things like clothes, takeaway, drinks, Ubers and small online purchases can really add up quickly. But the goal isn’t to shame yourself, it’s to notice the pattern and start setting boundaries. 

Recurring payments add up, too. Aussie respondents are estimated to spend $26.5bn annually on subscription services—an average of $1,637 a year per subscriber. Streaming services, app subscriptions, cloud storage, gym memberships, software trials, insurance policies and delivery memberships are easy to forget—especially when the payment is annual or comes from a different card than your usual everyday card. 

It’s also worth checking whether you’re paying twice for the same kind of service. For example, I only use one streaming subscription at a time. I’ll get Netflix for one month, cancel it straight away, and then the next month I might subscribe to Disney+. That way, I’m not paying for five streaming services all in one go. Small habits like regularly running subscription audits can truly make all the difference. 

Spending That Sparks Joy 

Cutting costs could be be just trying to spend as little as possible, whereas mindful spending is reducing spending in some areas so that you could reallocate that money to spend even more money in other areas.

It's not about cutting everything fun from your budget. It's just being more mindful about where you spend your money and if it's actually worth it to you. If it isn't, maybe try to reduce it so you can spend even more money on things that you genuinely enjoy.

I recommend reviewing your savings goals in line with your essential spending. That helps you identify how much you can save each month, and keep room for the things that genuinely support your health, time, relationships or happiness and still fit within your means. I think that the most important thing is to keep purchases in your life that genuinely bring you joy, make sure you’re spending within your means, and then just remove the things that don't really bring you much joy.

I don’t eat at restaurants very often, but I love coffee, pastries, bubble tea and gelato.  For the price of one $200 restaurant meal, I can enjoy so many smaller treats across the month. The point of reviewing your spending habits is not to remove everything that brings you joy; it’s to make room for the things you value most.

How To Track Your Expenses

The best way to track your spending is whatever way you’ll actually use, whether that’s your banking app, a spreadsheet or an expense-tracking app. 

I like to do a quick review every month and a deeper audit every few months or before a major life change. 

Saving money on your insurance, your electricity plan, your phone bill: these things don't really affect your lifestyle too much, and they can save you a huge amount of money. If you want to save $10,000 in one year, that's just $27.40 per day. If you do want to save some more money, it's a good idea to look at the things that aren't really going to affect your lifestyle too much.

My number one advice? Choose one system and make your check-in simple. Put a recurring 20-minute appointment in your calendar, review one month at a time, and focus on the two or three categories that surprised you most. The goal is awareness, not guilt.

Learn more about ING here while still enjoying more of the experiences you love with the people you love along the way.

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by ING and proudly endorsed by The Urban List. To find out more about who we work with and why, read our editorial policy here.

Images: Supplied