I was terrible at making sandwiches

Hey everyone, it's Ren here…

Quick confession: I was absolutely terrible at making sandwiches.

Years ago, I did some work experience at Subway while I was at university and honestly... the customers deserved better.

My wrapping technique? Chaotic at best.

Remembering which sauce was which? A daily struggle.

I didn’t even know how to broom the floor properly.

But there was ONE thing I was weirdly good at.

Keeping track of my hours.

Between lectures, assignments, and shifts that changed every week, I had to be organized or everything would fall apart. So I tracked everything - what hours I worked, what I was getting paid, when my uni deadlines were.

It wasn't glamorous. But it meant I always knew exactly what was coming into my account and could plan around it.

And here's the thing...

We talk a lot about tracking where our money goes. But how often do we track where it comes from?

If you're paid hourly, do shift work, or have income that varies week to week - this is actually kind of important.

3 reasons tracking your income matters (especially for hourly workers):

1. Payroll mistakes happen more than you'd think

I've heard from so many people who discovered they'd been underpaid for months - wrong rate applied, overtime not calculated properly, public holidays missed. If you're not tracking it yourself, you're trusting someone else's spreadsheet (and let's be honest, mistakes slip through).

2. It helps you plan when income isn't consistent

When you can see "okay, last month I averaged 32 hours but this month looks like 26" - you can actually prepare for that. No more end-of-month surprises wondering why things feel tighter than usual.

3. Tax time becomes way less painful

If you've ever sat there in April trying to remember what you earned eight months ago... yeah. Having it all logged and totalled saves hours of digging through payslips and bank statements.

Even if you just jot your hours in a notebook, it's better than nothing.

But if you want something that does the maths for you...

I've just put together an Hourly Payroll Income Tracker that makes this stupidly simple.

You log your hours, set your rates (regular, overtime, weekends, night shifts, public holidays - whatever applies to you), and it automatically calculates your after-tax income.

Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearly.

No apps. No subscriptions. Just a simple spreadsheet that works in Google Sheets or Excel.

Grab it here for 50% off - ends soon

Here's what's inside:

→ 365-day daily log (start any day of the year)

→ Automatic after-tax calculations

→ Tracks up to 10 different pay categories

→ Weekly totals so you can spot your busiest and quietest periods

→ Annual summary with charts to see your whole year at a glance

→ Public holidays auto-highlighted so you don't miss penalty rates

If you're someone who tracks your own hours - or you just want to stop guessing what you'll actually take home - this might be worth a look.

Get 50% off here

Happy budgeting (and income tracking!),

Ren

P.S. Even if this isn't for you, maybe forward it to someone you know who does shift work? They might appreciate having their hours sorted for 2026.

Go check it out.