The first year that someone is alone, living solely based on their monthly income, or has shared financial responsibility with another individual, tracking expenses is necessary to remain financially competent. 11.6% of the U.S. population lives below the poverty line and 52% make below $75,000 a year. With increased inflation and items that society deems necessary such as cars, phones, and TVs, the ability to overspend has become easier. Meeting so-called milestones like buying a house also adds to the capability of going beyond one's means to remain in a social standing where one can be perceived as successful. The urge to quickly fund goals or items can be debilitatingly tempting, but sticking to a plan can prevent financial derailing in the future. 

 Maintaining a budget helps in preventing the long-term accumulation of debt and analyzes the amount of money spent each month for different purposes. Categories to include in a budget are insurance, clothing, rent, entertainment, transportation, debt, food, and anything else an individual spends money on. The first step is to check past spending to gauge how much money is going toward each item without any budgeting. Then, creating either a spreadsheet or a written place to keep track is the best way to ensure that all of your expenses are logged and accounted for. One of the most important things to check at the end of each month is that income minus costs always equals zero, meaning that every dollar earned had a designated location in the budget. Furthermore, budgeting can additionally support long-term goals. 

The increase in prices throughout recent years places a greater significance on saving money and investing, in addition to creating a retirement fund. Without a budget mapping out the amount of money that needs to be allocated toward a retirement fund or into savings, it may be difficult to accomplish long-term goals as it is easy to overspend in other areas. The ideal age to begin saving for retirement is during a person's 20s. Due to this, starting later could drastically affect what year someone could retire and the amount of money available when they do. Living paycheck to paycheck is unsustainable as unexpected events may result in an inability to work or a large bill that could wreak havoc on financial status. Maintaining a budget that includes saving is essential to living a comfortable life in the future.