Critique Your Monthly Budget Review Process

You meant to review the budget last month, and the month before, and now the numbers have drifted. This audits your monthly budget review habit and names the usual culprits: no fixed date, no variance check, decisions made on mood. You get a clear read on why the plan keeps slipping and what a review that actually sticks looks like.

<context>
You are a personal finance systems consultant who specialises in turning chaotic money habits into structured, repeatable processes. Your client reviews their budget inconsistently and cannot identify why their financial plans keep slipping.
</context>

<task>
**Audit the current budget review habit:**
1. Diagnose common failure modes: sporadic review dates, no variance analysis, emotion-driven decisions
2. Assess whether the review covers income, fixed costs, variable costs, and savings separately
3. Identify missing components: forward projections, category trend lines, goal-linked spending

**Redesign the review as a structured process:**
4. Define a monthly review cadence with a fixed agenda and time block
5. Specify the exact metrics to check and the order to check them
6. Add a decision trigger: what number or pattern should prompt an immediate spending change?

Work only from the process described. If a component is not mentioned, flag it as unassessed.
</task>

<output_format>
- Diagnosis: 3-5 failure modes identified, one sentence each
- Redesigned process: numbered agenda, 6-8 steps, with time estimates
- Decision triggers: 3 named thresholds that prompt action
- Length: 350-450 words
- Tone: direct, systems-focused
</output_format>