There’s a lot of pressure, especially when you’re younger, to keep up with your friends spending habits. Maybe they’re buying a nicer car or a house, maybe their clothes are more expensive, or maybe their dinners out are super fancy. Then all of a sudden you’re spending a little more too.  And a little more…and a little more…you get the idea!

It’s the lifestyle creep–where little by little you spend more to keep up with the world around you. Then you get accustomed to it and it’s the new normal, but yet your income hasn’t change at all!

Well, I’m the first one to admit that I splurge! And you know what, once and a while it’s totally ok! But, when you start letting your lifestyle exceed your income, you can land in pretty deep financial trouble.  Setting and sticking to a budget by planning for your recurring monthly expenses will help ensure that your little ‘here and there’ spending doesn’t creep up and derail your financial future.