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Mistake #8: Spending tomorrow’s earnings today. This is a financial mistake that’s often made with the help of credit cards. For example, suppose you’re overwhelmed with work and just want to go out and have a nice time, so you do. You put dinner, drinks & a movie out on a credit card, knowing that you’ll have plenty to pay it in full when you get your next check. Or suppose that your budget is cut kind of close, so you’ll need your entire next paycheck to make your car payment. Either way, you’re spending tomorrow’s paycheck today: you’ve already had the evening out, and you’re already driving the car.

At first glance this may not seem like such a bad thing, because as soon as your paycheck arrives, you’re fine. At least at first. The problem with doing this is that it catches up with you. Unfortunately, it seems like unexpected expenses actually happen with regularity, and suddenly that money you were planning to pay for the dinner you had last week needs to be spent on something else. Even if you do still have the money, it can be depressing to get paid and know that all the money is already spent on things you’ve already done or used. And with each successive check, the feeling just gets worse and worse.

Solution: Divide & conquer. Put money from each paycheck into different pots: some for fun, some for bills, some for long-term savings, some for short-term savings, some for your emergency fund, etc. Wait to spend your money until you actually have it in hand. At first it may seem like a struggle to wait, because you want the good things now, but it pays to remember that the sweet things in life are that much sweeter when you can fully enjoy them — without the financial hangover later.