I have to disagree on the first 2 posts about the latte factor. I think the small expenses are the one that caught you by surprised. The big expense, you have to sit down and really think about whether you can afford it or not. But the small things such as going out to dinner/lunch/breakfast instead of making your own food/drink. Those are the thing that you just spend and not think about. It’s the things that you buy that don’t think about that really affect your finance. He does not mean just coffee at Starbucks when he talk about the “latte factor”. He means the small stuff and being alert and think about what you buy. I can almost guarantee you that if you add up your yearly expense, the eating out and those other small stuff will be much greater than the large expenses.