Spending Creep Diagnosis: Explain My Budget Drift Over 12 Months

You spend more than a year ago and you're not sure why. Give it last year's budget, your current spend and the inflation rate, and this splits the difference: what's genuinely down to prices rising versus what's lifestyle creep you can pull back. You find out which increases were forced and which were chosen.

My budgeted monthly spend by category 12 months ago was: {BUDGET_12_MONTHS_AGO}. My actual average monthly spend over the past three months by the same categories is: {CURRENT_ACTUAL_SPEND}. Inflation over this period in my country ({COUNTRY}) averaged {INFLATION_RATE}%. Please analyse the variance for each category and distinguish between three types of drift: (1) legitimate inflation-driven increases that are expected, (2) lifestyle inflation where I upgraded to a more expensive version of the same thing, and (3) pure spending creep with no clear driver. For each category in groups 2 and 3, suggest a specific corrective action. Conclude with the total annual cost of non-inflation spending drift expressed as both a cash figure and as a percentage of my annual income ({ANNUAL_INCOME}).