Small Expenses That Drain Your Budget

 

It’s not always the big purchases we make that can derail our finances. Often, it’s the small, sneaky ones which creep up on us.

 I use the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway quite often because my parents live on that side of town. And that means 10k for a round trip. 

 To cut costs, I tried using the UPESI card, but even with my frequent trips, it never made sense. The card would expire before I’d used up the balance. So now, I stick to one-off payments.

 If you drive in Kampala, you know this story well; road tolls, parking fees, small payments here and there. And it’s not just car-related expenses. There are many others:

 📱 the daily 2k data bundle

🍔🥤 the many take-outs at work

🪞💅the beauty products and accessories we buy on impulse

 

The insidious part of this story is that individually, these small expenses feel harmless. But together they pile up! You barely remember them, yet they slowly eat away at your budget.

Before you know it, you’ve spent UGX 300,000.

 How does this happen?

1.    They create a false sense of control
You think you’re budgeting well (“I only spent big on rent, food, and bills”) but underestimate how much leaks out in these small, daily spends.

2.    They normalize impulse spending
Spending small amounts without thought trains your brain to say “yes” to instant gratification. Over time, this spills over into bigger purchases.

3.    They add up over time
UGX 5,000 here, UGX 10,000 there doesn’t sting. But in a month, that’s UGX 300,000+—enough to clear a debt, boost your savings, or buy into an investment unit trust.

4.    They silently eat into your financial freedom
Because they don’t feel like “major spending,” you don’t track or plan for them. This creates a false picture of your true spending.

5.    They crowd out intentional goals
Instead of building toward something meaningful, like an emergency fund or investing, your money gets scattered across several  small and sometimes  unnecessary purchases.

6.    They compound invisibly
Just as compound interest grows your money , daily leaks erode it because though small over time they do add up.

What can you do?

Not all small expenses can be avoided, obviously. Some, like road tolls, are unavoidable for the most part. But the impulse buys? Excessive parking fees? Those we can control.

And the best way to do that is to track your expenses. All of them!

Personally, I keep every receipt from shopping, road tolls, everything, and enter them into my Excel tracker. I do this weekly (sometimes more often) so I don’t lose track or misplace receipts. If I can’t keep a receipt, I take a picture and save it on my phone.

If Excel feels too “old school” for you, there are apps that can help you do that . The method you use doesn’t matter as much as the discipline.

Tracking helps you identify those areas where these small expenses are happening and enables you to make a decision about which small expenses to keep and which you can do without or reduce.

So track, review, cut out what you don’t need, and redirect that money into saving or investing.

 ✅ Your Challenge: Starting this week, track every single shilling you spend for 7 days. No expense is too small to write down. At the end of the week, total it up. You’ll be surprised at where your money is really going. And once you see it, you’ll know exactly where to start cutting back and redirecting those shillings into savings or investments.

Will you try it? 

By Martha Songa

miss.songa@gmail.com