A good friend, who works as an experience designer, had a recent idea about changing the design of receipts to help consumers better understand how much they spend.

This year, he resolved to track his spending. As he scrutinized his receipts, he was shocked by the variation in types of receipts and how unhelpful some of them were, especially when it came to the taxes that we pay.

As someone who dissects his receipts, I’ve often thought they were purposefully hard to read and have the total at the bottom to make you less aware of the entire amount that you spend. (And what’s up with Whole Foods always folding the receipt so you don’t see the total?)

Brad decided to use his design skills to create a receipt that’s easier to understand and overall more helpful.  

You can check out his first draft here.

Making the receipt easier to read (with the total amount spent in bold at the top), plus a more detailed explanation of the taxes would be a great way to make people more aware of how much they spend. Becoming a conscious consumer and tracking where your money goes will also help you conquer your other personal finance goals like paying down debt, saving for retirement, or making your first big purchase.  

A simple change like this could go a long way in helping people achieve their personal finance goals. Nice work Brad!