Have you ever bought one thing only to realize that this one purchase led to another? And another? And another? I have, and it can be very frustrating.

I decided to get a new phone a year ago and after shopping around I found this ideal smart phone that met all my specifications, and better still, was within my budget. So I went ahead and got it. It looked pretty, shiny and new so to retain this glossy look I opted to get a screen cover that would protect it from scratches, so I incurred an additional expense. As if that was not enough, I went a step further and bought a plastic phone cover to further protect it from scratches. The phone didn’t come with a USB cable so I had to buy one. Within a span of one week I had spent an additional 40% of what I had initially budgeted for on customizing the phone: expenses that I had not factored in before buying the phone.

In our lives, we will definitely have  expenses that keep leading to more expenses, so, where does one stop? How should we deal with expenses that lead to more expenses.

First, we need to be realistic about the things we buy. For instance, when I bought a new phone I should have realized that I will need to buy additional accessories. Factoring in these additional costs before hand would have prevented me from venturing beyond what I had initially budgeted for. When you buy something, think carefully about whether that purchase will lead to others as well.

Certain additional expenses cannot be predicted. This is often the case when moving into a new home or buying a new car. In such instances we need to have some sort of slush fund to cater for such unpredictable expenses. It is not necessarily an emergency fund, but a fund for coping with surprise costs that aren't emergencies.

Factoring these would enable you to be proud of your purchases and lets you enjoy them a little more.