We’re parents. Our oldest has always wanted to save for big purchases, but get him into any random gift shop, convenience store, or Target, and suddenly he “needs” something more than he’s ever needing anything in his life. Reminding him in the moment about all the things he wanted to save for was ineffective. Of course, he forgot about the candy or cheap toy almost as soon as he got it in the car.

The one thing that made a difference was sitting down later and writing out how much money he could have now if only he hadn’t spent it on the random junk he didn’t even remember. Unsquander was born from our own desire to help our son stop spending impulsively.