The problem IMHO is that your advice seems very black and white to me. It sounds like you are saying either don't track anything at all and rely entirely on car

The problem IMHO is that your advice seems very black and white to me. It sounds like you are saying either don't track anything at all and rely entirely on career path for your financial security, or go full-on into a time consuming accounting mode where every penny is measured and fretted on. Tracking personal finance doesn't have to be terribly difficult. A simple spreadsheet with expenses and income often suffices. Maybe some simple divisions so that you know that x % of the paycheck will pay the mortgage and y % will be used for the insurance. Nothing too fancy or time consuming. Just enough to reveal patterns, and make sure you have enough "flex" in your bank account for things like personal emergencies. Although I know you are saying your advice is for the upwardly mobile only, my impression is that a lot of people are very bad with their finances -- that includes even some of the "upwardly mobile". Maybe you're good with your personal finance and have no need to track, but I personally think the general rule should be that most people should do some rudimentary tracking.