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There's an age-old cliché that warns, "Small foxes spoil the vine." That phrase holds remarkably true to your budget when you consider all the miniscule purchases that you make each day.

Individual financial success is largely determined by purchasing and savings habits, and in particular, the mundane, day-to-day decisions we make on everything we purchase.

Take Bob, for instance. He's in the market for a television in the $900-range, and will likely go online and visit several web sites to compare prices, look for sales, and find the best bargain. What he's doing is making a rational, logical and informed buying decision.

But before you make Bob out to be our financial hero, look at his daily spending habits. He begins each morning with a $6 latte at his neighborhood coffee boutique. When Bob buys gas, it's automatic that he'll go into the adjoining convenience store, peruse the magazine rack, and leave with either a jumbo $4 soft drink or a $4 fitness magazine. (Sometimes it's both.) And over the weekend, Bob plunked down $85 for a cashmere sweater that caught his eye when he was at the mall.

While these small expenses are fine by themselves, over time, they can really add up. Without knowing it, a guy like Bob will likely spend $1 million over the course of his lifetime in these daily instances of "impulse purchases." If Bob could cut just $3 a day from his spending habits, just think of how much money he could accumulate in 20 years.

Source: Credit Union National Association, Inc.