You’ve probably heard the phrase “the future is now,” but have you ever really stopped to think about what that means? The choices we make today determine what our future will hold. The way we are living life today affects how our future will unfold. From a financial standpoint, that means if you’re making money mistakes today, your financial future could be at risk. You cannot wait to save for retirement until the last minute. Compound interest is based on time, so you want to start saving money as early as you possibly can. No matter if you’re starting just in time or you’re a little late, there’s no better time to start than today.

When you recognize the mistakes, you can learn from them, make better decisions, and change the future. Let’s dive in to 8 money mistakes that will crush your financial future.

1. Not saving regularly.

Make it a point to save money on a regular basis, even if it’s small amounts. It will add up over time and the sooner you start saving, the sooner compound interest can begin working in your favor. Financial experts have long been teaching the benefits of compound interest, but for some reason we still tend to put off saving. We try to save whatever money is leftover at the end of the month, but the truth is, when you operate this way, there isn’t much leftover. You have to make saving a priority and you have to become disciplined. You can even set up a portion of your paycheck to auto transfer into savings so you can make it happen.

2. Living an extravagant lifestyle.

We are constantly being influenced to live an extravagant lifestyle. Through social media, we are being marketed to through influencers and retail companies. We constantly feel the need to compare ourselves to everyone else’s highlight reel. And when that’s not enough we take out debt to buy the things we want and end up paying more for it in the long run. This type of lifestyle and comparison trap will cause you to spend money on pointless material things that have no real value to you and leave you feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. And with all that spending, there’s no room to save for retirement or invest and build wealth. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life working just because you were living above your means.

Related: The Art of Living Below Your Means

3. Using credit cards.

Credit cards are often the culprit for person debt. Research shows that you will spend 12-18% more when using plastic versus using cash. Credit cards can make spending more tempting and people tend to justify it as helping their credit score or earning rewards. But in this blog post we already busted 4 Credit Card Myths. All the spending and paying interest payments will cost you savings for your future, so the best thing to do is just not use them and put the extra temptation to rest.

4. Borrowing money to pay off debt.

Yeah, you read that right. Some people, maybe even you, have taken out more debt to try and pay off the debt they already have. You can see it’s a vicious cycle. Continuing to switch everything over to 0% credit cards can be stressful and eventually the interest rates will start kicking in or sneak up on you. And although the debt consolidation companies act like they’re on your side, you end up paying more than you would have if you just got out of debt on your own. And you have what ti takes to pay it off on your own. So stop the debt cycle.

5. Believing paying the minimum is fine.

If all you ever do is pay the minimum amount on your debts, it’s going to take years and costs tens of thousands of dollars (if not more, especially for mortgage) to pay it all off. You making minimum payments and paying interest is how credit companies and lenders make their money, they’ve designed it this way for a reason. You should always try your best to add as much extra as you can to your payments and when you get the courage to pay off all your debt, read How to Pay Off Debt Fast.

6. Not keeping track of expenses.

Have you ever gotten to the end of the month, looked at the smaller than expected balance in your bank account and thought “where did all my money go?” I’ve been there. When you’re not tracking expenses, you’re not paying attention to what you’re spending money on. The more you track your expenses, the more you will be able to exercise control over your spending and make room for priorities like saving and giving.

It’s important to be aware of the financial mistakes you’re making so you can take action to correct them. You won’t be able to out earn debt. You cannot wait until your financial future arrives to plan for it. The choices you make today, and the way you spend or save your money today, has a huge impact on your future. Don’t take this lightly, get things under control now, before it’s too late.

If you’re ready to start paying off debt or you want further guidance in your pay off journey, get my completely FREE downloadable Debt Free Guide. This is a full guide of reading and prompts that gives you the steps to paying off debt in a bite sized format so that you can stop feeling overwhelmed and start feeling motivated!