I used this just as a symbol. The problem is that expenses have the nasty habit to compound over time and get bigger and bigger. If you don't watch yourself, yo

I used this just as a symbol. The problem is that expenses have the nasty habit to compound over time and get bigger and bigger. If you don't watch yourself, you'll end up doing things like buying an over-sized home, then a boat, an expensive german car, a very expensive private school for the kids, the family expectation of expensive trips now and then. And when things get tight, all those "small-ticket" itens and their maintainance come back to bit you if you have insanely high mortage payments like lots of my colleagues.