your-money

Some say you should spend no more than 4% of your after tax income on vacations a year -- and don't go into debt. But is that realistic? How much is too much to spend on a vacation?

In the dark days of January my family and I don’t go out much, which means we spend lots of time cooking and eating at home. This is great for our overall budget – it means we’re not spending big dough on restaurants or takeout. But it does mean we spend a lot of time at the grocery store and since Christmas, our food budget has soared. Not because we’re eating more but because we’re not being smart about our shopping.

I have a closet full of regrets. There’s the $200 shoes that I’ve only worn three times (they hurt!). There’s the $40 jacket that looked great on the website, but looked cheap in person — I’ve never worn it. I have dozens of purchases tucked away in my closet that I bought without thinking, usually because I was bored or feeling low and just needed some "retail therapy".

There’s nothing that starts my day off right like random cheap deals - which is why I love deal-of-the-day sites like Groupon so much.

Well, it looks like the song was right: mo money, mo problems… From big mortgages, to expensive schools, to fancy cars - the more you earn, the more there is to spend it on. You might not have to clip coupons, but you do have to keep up with the payments. It’s what is commonly referred to as lifestyle creep - and it’s a trap people can easily fall into when they start earning more money.