What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
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bengal22
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by bengal22 »

Don't think my happiness is tied to lifestyle BUT I do enjoy better restaurants and I like that I am a more generous tipper.
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barnaclebob
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by barnaclebob »

A bigger house with an amazing view. We've only had it for a year but every time i come home it feels like I'm on vacation, even if there is work to do around the house. I also enjoy that my new bigger mortgage is pretty much a retirement countdown that ends before age 50.

I'm thinking quarterly or yearly house deep cleaning might be the next thing. I don't mind vacuuming and wiping down counters but really hate having to get into the corners, behind toilets, dust on the shelves/baseboards/window sills etc. All of the dirt that builds up slowly basically.
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kenyan
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by kenyan »

I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.

I think the proper question would incorporate the implicit costs of lifestyle creep. Something along the lines of - knowing how much longer you'll have to work (or whatever other sacrifice that might need to be made) for each lifestyle creep decision, would you continue to make the same decisions if you had a do-over? N/A for some, but something to think about.

For example, if you spend $300/month extra on eating out or maid service, causing your savings to decline by $3600/year and your retirement number to increase by $100k, forcing you to defer retirement for an extra 2 years just to support this decision, is it still worth it to you? I'm sure some of those are worth it for some people, but I think the costs should be acknowledged rather than people just waxing poetic about their wonderful things.

Off of the soapbox, my personal answer to this question right now would have to be lawn service. Maybe I'll change my mind on that once I'm in retirement and have more time to take care of it, but for now it's worth it. I have made a few reverse lifestyle creep/savings creep decisions recently that actually increased my happiness as well, so double score for those.
Retirement investing is a marathon.
mak1277
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by mak1277 »

kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.
You're probably right about not getting extra happiness all the time, but I think that avoiding unhappiness is just as valuable. I may not get actively excited about flying first class anymore, but I know for darn sure I am in a bad mood every time I fly coach.
DarkHelmetII
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by DarkHelmetII »

Splurging on sandwiches at Subway that are not the daily special.
Rus In Urbe
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by Rus In Urbe »

A huge, crazy expenditure of a brick driveway that wraps around the house and turns into a patio in back.
Plus a gorgeous rock wall in the garden.
Plus a fountain.
Completely insane expenditure on a LOCOL house, but oh do we get so much hedonic bounce out of it.
Could "afford" to live a lot of other places.
But we like our little Eden.
I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money. ~Pablo Picasso
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midareff
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by midareff »

ThankYouJack wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:43 pm I'm curious for those who were able to make increase in their lifestyle, what things actually made you happier?
Nicwer cars, cruise trips 4 to 6 times a year and so forth. Perhaps I simply over saved before retirement.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by TheTimeLord »

midareff wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:02 pm
ThankYouJack wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:43 pm I'm curious for those who were able to make increase in their lifestyle, what things actually made you happier?
Nicwer cars, cruise trips 4 to 6 times a year and so forth. Perhaps I simply over saved before retirement.
Or did you?
IMHO, Investing should be about living the life you want, not avoiding the life you fear. | Run, You Clever Boy! [9085]
stimulacra
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by stimulacra »

1) Fun to drive cars.
2) Clothes that look and fit well and last for many seasons.
3) Photography
stoptothink
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by stoptothink »

mak1277 wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:29 pm
kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.
You're probably right about not getting extra happiness all the time, but I think that avoiding unhappiness is just as valuable. I may not get actively excited about flying first class anymore, but I know for darn sure I am in a bad mood every time I fly coach.
I could think of about a million lifestyle creep things that I have paid for that I don't enjoy...that's the reality of marriage.
EnjoyIt
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by EnjoyIt »

kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.

I think the proper question would incorporate the implicit costs of lifestyle creep. Something along the lines of - knowing how much longer you'll have to work (or whatever other sacrifice that might need to be made) for each lifestyle creep decision, would you continue to make the same decisions if you had a do-over? N/A for some, but something to think about.

For example, if you spend $300/month extra on eating out or maid service, causing your savings to decline by $3600/year and your retirement number to increase by $100k, forcing you to defer retirement for an extra 2 years just to support this decision, is it still worth it to you? I'm sure some of those are worth it for some people, but I think the costs should be acknowledged rather than people just waxing poetic about their wonderful things.
This thread triggers me a bit as well. Lots of these things we think buys us happiness is short lived or a false sense of said happiness. How many days or hours or years have some of us had to work, taking time away from family and friends just to buy said luxuries and is that trade off really worth it.

Our biggest and most expensive lifestyle creep was becoming financially independent and working part time. Going part time is costing us millions of dollars. Working 2-3 days a week while having tons of free time is well worth it. I wouldn’t trade it for a nicer and nicer car or the fanciest restaurants. I still work because I enjoy what I do, and enjoy it so much more when I dont really have to do it. The extra money earned is going towards a bit more financial security and toys. Toys that I know provide very short lived hedonism.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: | viewtopic.php?p=1139732#p1139732
dknightd
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by dknightd »

I bought a sporty convertible. Currently buried in snow. But next summer I suspect it will make me happy again.
I bought used. With cash. So boggle like. So far, for 6 years, it has made me happy every spring ;) I suspect it will make me happy again next spring :)
Retired 2019. So far, so good. I want to wake up every morning. But I want to die in my sleep. Just another conundrum. I think the solution might be afternoon naps ;)
Theseus
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by Theseus »

Flying business class for international flights
House cleaning help
Tesla Model X

Worth every penny.
ge1
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by ge1 »

House. We did extensive renovations, including converting old garage to media room / bed room / bath room and adding a new garage with gym on the second floor. Also added a nice screened porch. Literally every time I drive up to our house i love it.

And our annual vacation on an expensive Dude Ranch in Colorado, highlight for the whole family.

Daily Starbucks Coconut Latte.


We have other nice things (cars, latest apple gadgets) and enjoy using them, but they don‘t make me „happy“ at all.
HIinvestor
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by HIinvestor »

Being able to volunteer at a nonprofit I created (rather than working for wages)
Flying economy plus
Travel when and where we want
Dining out whenever desired
Having a CPA do our taxes
Two Roombas
Buying a new car we enjoy without thinking about the price much
Having a property manager
Having an insurance agent
Having a bookkeeper doing our nonprofit’s finances
Gifting to our young adults
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Last edited by HIinvestor on Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Colorado14
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by Colorado14 »

Vacations. As a youngster, we rarely traveled more than 3 hours from home, due to a limited budget and parents' lack of interest in travel. I just booked a trip for March and am not going to fret about the cost. Travel is a priority for me; "stuff" doesn't make me happier but adventures certainly do.
briansmt4
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by briansmt4 »

Taking my grown children, son-in-law and granddaughter on a trip every year to a different country and paying for it all.
H-Town
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by H-Town »

kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.

I think the proper question would incorporate the implicit costs of lifestyle creep. Something along the lines of - knowing how much longer you'll have to work (or whatever other sacrifice that might need to be made) for each lifestyle creep decision, would you continue to make the same decisions if you had a do-over? N/A for some, but something to think about.

For example, if you spend $300/month extra on eating out or maid service, causing your savings to decline by $3600/year and your retirement number to increase by $100k, forcing you to defer retirement for an extra 2 years just to support this decision, is it still worth it to you? I'm sure some of those are worth it for some people, but I think the costs should be acknowledged rather than people just waxing poetic about their wonderful things.

Off of the soapbox, my personal answer to this question right now would have to be lawn service. Maybe I'll change my mind on that once I'm in retirement and have more time to take care of it, but for now it's worth it. I have made a few reverse lifestyle creep/savings creep decisions recently that actually increased my happiness as well, so double score for those.
Totally agree.

I don't get why people get maid service. I have a coworker even installed a camera system so that he can watch over them cleaning his house on his phone. Talk about lifestyle creep...

Instead of watching TV, I choose to clean the house myself. It's a good activity for health and stress-relief. Same with taking care of my lawn. That $50 every month can add up quickly over a period of time.
Time is the ultimate currency.
Sockpuppet
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by Sockpuppet »

I’m surprised so many people are saying flying first class, as John Bogle was very proud of himself for only ever having flown first-class once in his life.
renata
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by renata »

SevenBridgesRoad wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 8:10 pm
AlphaLess wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 8:07 pm

One other thing: I am able to help less fortunate relatives.
Yes. This.
Same here:)
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BoglePaul
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by BoglePaul »

Chipotle WITH Guac
SeaEngineer
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by SeaEngineer »

Those of you flying first class - at what networth you started flying first class ? We are currently at 3M excluding home equity.I keep thinking may be one day when we reach 5M - I will think about first class.
JackoC
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by JackoC »

First to quantify our spending increases, taking 1991-95 avg as a baseline, the per annum growth since was 4.26% as of 2018. With 2002 as baseline 3.67%. So growing faster than CPI inflation for a long time, though basically hasn't grown even nominally since ca. 2014.

The item that's grown the most is charitable. That was a pretty minimal back in the 90's, now it's around 25% of the basic budget. 'Happy' is not the word to apply there, just something we can afford and feel like doing. Without that increase the rate from the 90's would be 3% pa so really only 'creeping' v CPI inflation (~2.2%pa in that period). And medical insurance (was included in compensation back then, paying for it now directly) is a good deal of the rest of the margin over inflation.

OTOH back then lots of kid costs, now empty nest. So it's actually difficult to quantify, as opposed to pointing to one thing we buy now but didn't before...while maybe leaving out things we bought before but not now. But in general my wife is a little more a spender than I am on day in day out, month in month out items, and I've given less static about it as the years have gone by. That's reduced an irritant in our relationship, and made both of us happier.

Outside regular yearly budget, we started buying nice cars at a certain point. The first expensive car (2000 Mercedes E) was a bust: I ending up disliking it over unreliability and it wasn't all I expected otherwise anyway. Since then my wife really enjoyed a Lexus GX of 2005 (traded in the Merc for it) we got because she liked it, and I came to respect if not love it, one of our sons owns it now. We love our BMW's bought in 2014 and 2018. No hedonic treadmill, they just make normal driving and road trips permanently more enjoyable than cheaper cars we've also had, even in recent years as second cars.
Last edited by JackoC on Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Cruise
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by Cruise »

Vacations : Without (or with little) regard to price. Expensive cruises on luxury line (but not large suites), 5-star hotels (but not large suites), and paid business-class seats when I can't find good routings with mileage program. Also hire private guides so I don't have to think too much :)

Daily Life: Go to beachside restaurant at lunch or breakfast without regard to cost. Doesn't have to be a special occasion. Whole Foods is my go-to grocery store, even though it is referred to as "Whole Paycheck."

Dress: Buying a lot of very expensive and funky shirts.

Next up: After purposely getting a cheap large-screen TV because my top-of the line TVs were breaking right after the warranty expired, I'm ready to throw my money away on a top-of-the line again.
Last edited by Cruise on Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
randomguy
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by randomguy »

BoglePaul wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:04 pm Chipotle WITH Guac
I will never be able to afford guac. That is like a 33% increase in cost over the basic bowl.
randomguy
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by randomguy »

kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.

I think the proper question would incorporate the implicit costs of lifestyle creep. Something along the lines of - knowing how much longer you'll have to work (or whatever other sacrifice that might need to be made) for each lifestyle creep decision, would you continue to make the same decisions if you had a do-over? N/A for some, but something to think about.

For example, if you spend $300/month extra on eating out or maid service, causing your savings to decline by $3600/year and your retirement number to increase by $100k, forcing you to defer retirement for an extra 2 years just to support this decision, is it still worth it to you? I'm sure some of those are worth it for some people, but I think the costs should be acknowledged rather than people just waxing poetic about their wonderful things.

Off of the soapbox, my personal answer to this question right now would have to be lawn service. Maybe I'll change my mind on that once I'm in retirement and have more time to take care of it, but for now it's worth it. I have made a few reverse lifestyle creep/savings creep decisions recently that actually increased my happiness as well, so double score for those.
100k is probably more like 6 months for most bogleheads (call it the 2-4 million dollar retirement club) as wealth compounds really quickly at end:) But lets do the math. Is say 1 hour/week for 52 weeks for say 60 years worth working 2 years more? Thats like 3000 hours of saved time. Thats pretty darn close. If my 6 month math is closer, you would be foolish not to outsource:)

Everyone understand the basics of spending more resulting in more savings needed. We have a zillion threads a week about it where people can brag about how little they spend (I can feed my family of 4 for 500. Loser, I can do it for 400. Crazy spender, I am doing it for 250:)).
crit
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by crit »

256th reply of 'cleaner'.

Any accounting of cost there would also have to account for the benefit of decreased household friction about cleaning. IE, happier.
Slacker
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by Slacker »

Moving out of apartments (forever) and moving into houses instead (renting or owning). The labor to maintain is worth the peace and quiet.
EnjoyIt
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by EnjoyIt »

randomguy wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:12 pm
kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.

I think the proper question would incorporate the implicit costs of lifestyle creep. Something along the lines of - knowing how much longer you'll have to work (or whatever other sacrifice that might need to be made) for each lifestyle creep decision, would you continue to make the same decisions if you had a do-over? N/A for some, but something to think about.

For example, if you spend $300/month extra on eating out or maid service, causing your savings to decline by $3600/year and your retirement number to increase by $100k, forcing you to defer retirement for an extra 2 years just to support this decision, is it still worth it to you? I'm sure some of those are worth it for some people, but I think the costs should be acknowledged rather than people just waxing poetic about their wonderful things.

Off of the soapbox, my personal answer to this question right now would have to be lawn service. Maybe I'll change my mind on that once I'm in retirement and have more time to take care of it, but for now it's worth it. I have made a few reverse lifestyle creep/savings creep decisions recently that actually increased my happiness as well, so double score for those.
100k is probably more like 6 months for most bogleheads (call it the 2-4 million dollar retirement club) as wealth compounds really quickly at end:) But lets do the math. Is say 1 hour/week for 52 weeks for say 60 years worth working 2 years more? Thats like 3000 hours of saved time. Thats pretty darn close. If my 6 month math is closer, you would be foolish not to outsource:)

Everyone understand the basics of spending more resulting in more savings needed. We have a zillion threads a week about it where people can brag about how little they spend (I can feed my family of 4 for 500. Loser, I can do it for 400. Crazy spender, I am doing it for 250:)).
Sure , but that is 6 months for 1 decisions. Now let’s add up all those decisions and those 6 months could be 5-10 years. It is worthwhile for each and every one of us to look at what we value and make our own choices. Some would rather be financially independent at 55 driving a Carrolla while someone else will reach independence at 60 in a Mercedes. While a 3rd will gladly retire at 45 living on much less. We all get to decide what is important to us and there is no right or wrong as long as we understand the implications of our choices.

I would rather be financially independent earlier and spend more time with my family and friends. We forgo millions to do so. I understand the consequences to my decision and I don’t think anyone can prove to me I am making a poor choice.

I have a friend who built a multimillion waterfront home. She works 50-70 hours a week to do so. She understands her decision. But chooses it because she feels it makes her and her family happy. She will likely be working into her 60s before being financially independent and I doubt anyone can convince her she made the wrong decision.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: | viewtopic.php?p=1139732#p1139732
MnD
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by MnD »

House cleaners
Regular nice vacations
Wood burning fireplace insert
Near front row center concert seats
Outdoor hot tub located way out in the backyard.
Upgrading to business/first (maybe 50%).

We just retired early and right on schedule with desired discretionary income so I don't regret any of the above for one second.
We've passed completely on a multitude of other lifestyle creeps that are common in our demographic.
Several other lifestyle upgrades we dabbled lightly in didn't increase our happiness one bit - so we ditched those ASAP.

One house, one spouse and one set of reliable wheels per driver covers up a multitude of lesser sins. :beer
Last edited by MnD on Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mancich
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by mancich »

Wife's GMC Acadia Denali lease. I'm not a big fan of leasing but it is one of the few non-Boglehead things we do, and it is a beautiful vehicle and has a third row, which we need. Fantastic on road trip and a pleasure to drive. We love it
BuckyBadger
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by BuckyBadger »

This isn't the MMM forum. The goal isn't to live as austerly as possible to work as short a time as possible to retire as early as possible to then live austerely again until you die.

We all make choices and they're not wrong just because they're different.

Those of you who say work work work now and retire 5 years earlier aren't making a bad choice. But someone who had experiences of people delaying all their gratification until the end and dying before being able to enjoy it may have a different view and find a different happy median.

Those with kids may very well choose to spend more on outside help so that they can be with their kids while they are young rather than saving up all that quality time until the kids are 15 and hate you. 😎

Basically I'm saying maybe we could keep this on track and stop shaming people who make different choices than you do?
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midareff
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by midareff »

TheTimeLord wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:05 pm
midareff wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:02 pm
ThankYouJack wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:43 pm I'm curious for those who were able to make increase in their lifestyle, what things actually made you happier?
Nicwer cars, cruise trips 4 to 6 times a year and so forth. Perhaps I simply over saved before retirement.
Or did you?
Sitting here in what appears to be year ten of an economic expansion and the longest bull ever certainly did not hurt.
smitcat
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by smitcat »

EnjoyIt wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:50 pm
randomguy wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:12 pm
kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I feel like this question is pretty loaded, albeit unintentionally. Who is going to cop to paying more money and not enjoying it? Also, I think that people just adapt over time and don't keep gleaning extra happiness for a good deal of lifestyle creep. My rich friends swear by every lifestyle creep decision they've made, but they don't seem particularly happier than before becoming rich and tripling their spending.

I think the proper question would incorporate the implicit costs of lifestyle creep. Something along the lines of - knowing how much longer you'll have to work (or whatever other sacrifice that might need to be made) for each lifestyle creep decision, would you continue to make the same decisions if you had a do-over? N/A for some, but something to think about.

For example, if you spend $300/month extra on eating out or maid service, causing your savings to decline by $3600/year and your retirement number to increase by $100k, forcing you to defer retirement for an extra 2 years just to support this decision, is it still worth it to you? I'm sure some of those are worth it for some people, but I think the costs should be acknowledged rather than people just waxing poetic about their wonderful things.

Off of the soapbox, my personal answer to this question right now would have to be lawn service. Maybe I'll change my mind on that once I'm in retirement and have more time to take care of it, but for now it's worth it. I have made a few reverse lifestyle creep/savings creep decisions recently that actually increased my happiness as well, so double score for those.
100k is probably more like 6 months for most bogleheads (call it the 2-4 million dollar retirement club) as wealth compounds really quickly at end:) But lets do the math. Is say 1 hour/week for 52 weeks for say 60 years worth working 2 years more? Thats like 3000 hours of saved time. Thats pretty darn close. If my 6 month math is closer, you would be foolish not to outsource:)

Everyone understand the basics of spending more resulting in more savings needed. We have a zillion threads a week about it where people can brag about how little they spend (I can feed my family of 4 for 500. Loser, I can do it for 400. Crazy spender, I am doing it for 250:)).
Sure , but that is 6 months for 1 decisions. Now let’s add up all those decisions and those 6 months could be 5-10 years. It is worthwhile for each and every one of us to look at what we value and make our own choices. Some would rather be financially independent at 55 driving a Carrolla while someone else will reach independence at 60 in a Mercedes. While a 3rd will gladly retire at 45 living on much less. We all get to decide what is important to us and there is no right or wrong as long as we understand the implications of our choices.

I would rather be financially independent earlier and spend more time with my family and friends. We forgo millions to do so. I understand the consequences to my decision and I don’t think anyone can prove to me I am making a poor choice.

I have a friend who built a multimillion waterfront home. She works 50-70 hours a week to do so. She understands her decision. But chooses it because she feels it makes her and her family happy. She will likely be working into her 60s before being financially independent and I doubt anyone can convince her she made the wrong decision.
"Sure , but that is 6 months for 1 decisions. Now let’s add up all those decisions and those 6 months could be 5-10 years. It is worthwhile for each and every one of us to look at what we value and make our own choices. Some would rather be financially independent at 55 driving a Carrolla while someone else will reach independence at 60 in a Mercedes. While a 3rd will gladly retire at 45 living on much less. We all get to decide what is important to us and there is no right or wrong as long as we understand the implications of our choices."

These posts point to the 'job' as the problem. If you do not like your job , and it takes up too much time....then perhaps change the 'job'.
If you solve for the job problem you do not have to make the trade offs between giving up things you want and like to do for an earlier FI.
armeliusc
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by armeliusc »

Kids.
fposte
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by fposte »

kenyan wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:19 pm I think the proper question would incorporate the implicit costs of lifestyle creep. Something along the lines of - knowing how much longer you'll have to work (or whatever other sacrifice that might need to be made) for each lifestyle creep decision, would you continue to make the same decisions if you had a do-over? N/A for some, but something to think about.
But that's treating FIRE as if it were the single universal goal. It's not; this isn't a FIRE forum. And everything we spend money is measured against everything else that costs money, not just retirement. It'd be tiresome to list all the other things we didn't get because we chose to pay for cleaners.

We've had plenty of threads about what we regret spending money on. It's okay to talk about what we're glad we did.
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alpenglow
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by alpenglow »

barnaclebob wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:31 am A bigger house with an amazing view. We've only had it for a year but every time i come home it feels like I'm on vacation, even if there is work to do around the house. I also enjoy that my new bigger mortgage is pretty much a retirement countdown that ends before age 50.

I'm thinking quarterly or yearly house deep cleaning might be the next thing. I don't mind vacuuming and wiping down counters but really hate having to get into the corners, behind toilets, dust on the shelves/baseboards/window sills etc. All of the dirt that builds up slowly basically.
Where abouts? Mountain view, ocean view, or something else?

I would always opt for a smaller home with a better view!
MnD
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by MnD »

SeaEngineer wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:39 pm Those of you flying first class - at what networth you started flying first class ? We are currently at 3M excluding home equity.I keep thinking may be one day when we reach 5M - I will think about first class.
I started flying first class a lot not as a function of net worth but rather when I figured out the both the upgrade game with the airlines and the credit card points/miles game with the CC companies. We have status with our most commonly used airline, plus tons of miles and points we can convert to miles on various airlines so that's how we upgrade most of the time. Also on flights where first class isn't filling up with revenue tickets our goto airline makes pretty decent offers of upgrades for cash - sometimes quite a ways out and sometimes as late as when checking in for the flight. Have never directly purchased a first class ticket but do sit up front quite a bit of the time. It has a real cost as one could purchase more coach tickets with miles, do other things with points and/or focus on cash back cards only and pass on any cash upgrade offers. But its not a big cost and nothing like the cost of routinely booking first class fares.
Last edited by MnD on Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
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il0kin
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by il0kin »

With two kids under 4, our lifestyle creep involves saving time. We did buy a larger house several years ago but in Boglehead fashion it was under 2x gross income, so while it wasn’t a necessity to survive, it also wasn’t a major lifestyle creep, I don’t think.

I will pay off our last consumer debt next month (car loan) and then only have a mortgage. To celebrate, my wife and I will be hiring a house cleaner to save us from the detailed house cleaning we do on Saturdays. I can’t wait! $100 per cleaning which is the whole ground floor and upstairs. And, in true Boglehead fashion, we will increase our retirement contributions from 16% to 17% + match as well.

We got a Roomba for Christmas. We have a black lab and the Roomba is an amazing invention that saves me time vacuuming as well as makes me feel better to not see dog hair accumulating.
barnaclebob
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by barnaclebob »

alpenglow wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:30 am
barnaclebob wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:31 am A bigger house with an amazing view. We've only had it for a year but every time i come home it feels like I'm on vacation, even if there is work to do around the house. I also enjoy that my new bigger mortgage is pretty much a retirement countdown that ends before age 50.

I'm thinking quarterly or yearly house deep cleaning might be the next thing. I don't mind vacuuming and wiping down counters but really hate having to get into the corners, behind toilets, dust on the shelves/baseboards/window sills etc. All of the dirt that builds up slowly basically.
Where abouts? Mountain view, ocean view, or something else?

I would always opt for a smaller home with a better view!
A good Sound and Olympic mountain view, probably 150 degrees, with a 15 min walk to a beach. Unfortunately most of the sound view houses don't tend to be small in the north Seattle suburbs but ours is really only 2000 sqft not including the finished basement. Luckily we grabbed the oldest house in the area so its nice and cozy.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by TheTimeLord »

midareff wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:03 am
TheTimeLord wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:05 pm
midareff wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:02 pm
ThankYouJack wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:43 pm I'm curious for those who were able to make increase in their lifestyle, what things actually made you happier?
Nicwer cars, cruise trips 4 to 6 times a year and so forth. Perhaps I simply over saved before retirement.
Or did you?
Sitting here in what appears to be year ten of an economic expansion and the longest bull ever certainly did not hurt.
I think people sometimes take these threads the wrong way. No one is saying that everyone should value or enjoy everything listed, but it is an acknowledgement of the benefits people have received by applying a little delayed gratification in their lives.
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EnjoyIt
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by EnjoyIt »

SeaEngineer wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:39 pm Those of you flying first class - at what networth you started flying first class ? We are currently at 3M excluding home equity.I keep thinking may be one day when we reach 5M - I will think about first class.
We fly first class or business internationally in the following scenarios:
1) Very cheap upgrade: Sometimes locally we can upgrade to 1st class for really cheap and will do so.
2) We fly business class internationally with points every few years.
3) Once we flew business class internationally because the trip was relatively short and we were willing to pay extra on the flight there so we can get some sleep, not be tired when we arrive and effectively get an extra day at our destination. This was a very expensive option which hopefully we will not need to do again.

The only way I could justify flying first/business class is if our net worth covered our expenses and then we had an extra $1000k on top of that we may consider splurging on business class internationally more often. Although we seam to amass enough points to travel in business internationally every 2 years.

Personally I think spending $10k-$15k extra for 6-8 hours is a ridiculous waste of money.
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mak1277
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by mak1277 »

SeaEngineer wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:39 pm Those of you flying first class - at what networth you started flying first class ? We are currently at 3M excluding home equity.I keep thinking may be one day when we reach 5M - I will think about first class.
Probably around $1M net worth when we started flying first class on long trips. But I can say without question that type of analysis never entered my mind.
msk
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by msk »

Charity! A few years ago I made a 7 figure endowment to our family's alma mater (7 of us went to the same university, either as undergrads or as postgrads). I realized quite quickly that that endowment is what gave me the most joy. Each year we receive a list of the student beneficiaries and some of the students send us their stories as to how their own families fell on bad times and without our help they would have had to drop out. So, recently I decided to disburse substantial sums of cash to each of my heirs (about $50k each annually divided into monthly installments). I announced it to all on my birthday in 2018 and I have all the monthly transfers made on my birth date. So now each month I get to smile when all the bank notifications come in. Even though this largese runs into $300k annually I can't think of how else I can use that much to creep up my own lifestyle and not feel guilty about it. Yacht? Not my interest. Private jet? Business Class is wasteful enough.

Least rewarding: changing from Economy Class to Business Class. I still feel it's a rip off! I do it because even some of my heirs, to whom I give the monthly stipends, travel Business or First. I may switch to First if I get to 9 figures in NW, unlikely seeing that I am in my mid 70s. I used to fly First back in my working life in the 1980s. It did teach me how to fall asleep promptly after take-off. Since I now sleep well even in Economy, Business is wasteful enough.
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alpenglow
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by alpenglow »

barnaclebob wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:47 am
alpenglow wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:30 am
barnaclebob wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:31 am A bigger house with an amazing view. We've only had it for a year but every time i come home it feels like I'm on vacation, even if there is work to do around the house. I also enjoy that my new bigger mortgage is pretty much a retirement countdown that ends before age 50.

I'm thinking quarterly or yearly house deep cleaning might be the next thing. I don't mind vacuuming and wiping down counters but really hate having to get into the corners, behind toilets, dust on the shelves/baseboards/window sills etc. All of the dirt that builds up slowly basically.
Where abouts? Mountain view, ocean view, or something else?

I would always opt for a smaller home with a better view!
A good Sound and Olympic mountain view, probably 150 degrees, with a 15 min walk to a beach. Unfortunately most of the sound view houses don't tend to be small in the north Seattle suburbs but ours is really only 2000 sqft not including the finished basement. Luckily we grabbed the oldest house in the area so its nice and cozy.
Awesome! Enjoy it!
NotYourAverageJones
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by NotYourAverageJones »

Maybe it's just me, but I've become more conscience of spending as we keep growing our accounts and hope to retire in a few years. I know much hard work and discipline it was to get us here, so I still tend to think and spend like someone who is just starting out. My husband is a tech geek, so he buys gadgets, more than I think makes sense. But he works his A$$ off, so if it makes the time he has off from work more enjoyable, then I say go for it. It's his thing and I don’t care if it make him a happier man for it. :D

Lifestyle creep?
A lot of votes for housekeeper: Nah! I don't mind cleaning. It's actually really therapeutic to me, so no housekeeper for us anytime soon. Plus, I’m too critical and nobody would get it clean enough for me anyway. :?

We eat out wherever and whenever we fell like it. We travel, wherever and however fits into our timeline. We stay in nicer hotels when possible. We don't fly first class, unless we get upgrades. I do fly business back and forth internationally from here to there (20 hours+) because if I didn't, my back would be jacked up for a week. I use my points as much as I can or my Global upgrades when possible. I see others posted its a waste, but for us, we don't classify that expense as a wasted expense. We don't fly first class, it's not worth it at all. But since I've made a 1K for awhile now, we usually get upgraded when flying around inside the US. Sitting 5 hours in economy when we fly coast to coast is not a problem.

I still shop at TJMaxx, Costco, Walmart, Target when back in the US. I try to buy stuff on sale when I can and I am pretty frugal on most things. But if we want to buy something nice for ourselves or gifts for someone else, we just buy it without the worry or guilt. I do find myself sliding my hand down the tag and rationalizing how much stuff cost and asking "is it worth it" question. Old habits die hard and regardless of our bank balance, that won't change. :wink:

That all said, I would have to say that the best thing about our lifestyle creep (even if it doesn’t really fit the description) is not worrying about the 1 credit card bill we get each month; no matter how high the balance is, we just pay it off. We put as much of our expenses as allowed on that card, just to rack up the points that which we use for travel expenses, etc. Otherwise we pay for everything else in cash. :dollar That lifestyle creep (change) has really been a blessing to us. Sleeping at night and not worrying about our bills is the best gift we wish everyone could get!
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by JackoC »

MnD wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:40 am
SeaEngineer wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:39 pm Those of you flying first class - at what networth you started flying first class ? We are currently at 3M excluding home equity.I keep thinking may be one day when we reach 5M - I will think about first class.
I started flying first class a lot not as a function of net worth but rather when I figured out the both the upgrade game with the airlines and the credit card points/miles game with the CC companies. We have status with our most commonly used airline, plus tons of miles and points we can convert to miles on various airlines so that's how we upgrade most of the time. Also on flights where first class isn't filling up with revenue tickets our goto airline makes pretty decent offers of upgrades for cash - sometimes quite a ways out and sometimes as late as when checking in for the flight. Have never directly purchased a first class ticket but do sit up front quite a bit of the time. It has a real cost as one could purchase more coach tickets with miles, do other things with points and/or focus on cash back cards only and pass on any cash upgrade offers. But its not a big cost and nothing like the cost of routinely booking first class fares.
That's a good point, upgraded flying is often related to playing airline loyalty/CC programs. However if you have a miles CC then it's not a cash back CC (miles aficionado's will say they get more than on cash back CC's, but you can't do 100% of both). And playing upgrade games with the airlines is a trade off of time and/or convenience of flight. Still, fair to note it's not necessarily purely the difference in list price fares.

I did pretty much intercontinental business class flying when I was working. It didn't make flying all that much less miserable for me. Now that I don't have to, I'd mainly rather just avoid flying. When I do have to, family emergencies and agreeing to some reasonable % of the overseas trips my wife proposes, I figure I'm just going to be miserable flying and that's that. I'd rather get cash back on CC's and not spend time playing airline reward programs.

And in fairness some people are probably saying they find it worthwhile to fly higher than economy on their own dime without being virtuoso's of cards and frequent flier programs. If so, fine.
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by VictoriaF »

michaeljc70 wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:44 am
VictoriaF wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 7:50 am Space creep: buying physical books
Location creep: living in a metropolitan area
Travel creep: trips to Europe at least twice per year
Comfort creep: flying *to* Europe in business class
Mood creep: improv and standup classes and performances
Stimulating company creep: I have recently enrolled in a paid-for online community and I am planning continuing it in the foreseeable future.

Victoria
I'm curious about this. Can you elaborate? If you don't want to name it, can you tell us the nature of it (hobby related, professional related, specific subject area, etc)?
I have joined Farnam Street Learning Community. I started out by listening to free FS podcasts, https://fs.blog/the-knowledge-project/ . Soon after that I signed for a free electronic newsletter. After several months of free listening and reading, I paid $149/year for a membership. The membership gives me access to PDFs of podcast transcripts, a discussion forum, online classes, and Ask Me Anything (AMA) with authors.

The FSLC forum discussion topics that I particularly enjoy include decision making, productivity, learning, and biohacking.

Victoria
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michaeljc70
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by michaeljc70 »

VictoriaF wrote: Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:21 am
michaeljc70 wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:44 am
VictoriaF wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 7:50 am Space creep: buying physical books
Location creep: living in a metropolitan area
Travel creep: trips to Europe at least twice per year
Comfort creep: flying *to* Europe in business class
Mood creep: improv and standup classes and performances
Stimulating company creep: I have recently enrolled in a paid-for online community and I am planning continuing it in the foreseeable future.

Victoria
I'm curious about this. Can you elaborate? If you don't want to name it, can you tell us the nature of it (hobby related, professional related, specific subject area, etc)?
I have joined Farnam Street Learning Community. I started out by listening to free FS podcasts, https://fs.blog/the-knowledge-project/ . Soon after that I signed for a free electronic newsletter. After several months of free listening and reading, I paid $149/year for a membership. The membership gives me access to PDFs of podcast transcripts, a discussion forum, online classes, and Ask Me Anything (AMA) with authors.

The FSLC forum discussion topics that I particularly enjoy include decision making, productivity, learning, and biohacking.

Victoria
Thanks. It sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out.
jayk238
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Re: What lifestyle creep made you happier?

Post by jayk238 »

OnTrack2020 wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:52 pm SiriusXM
Am thinking about Netflix
Not flying coach
We have sirius xm and are happy to let it go. With apple carplay i get everything i want already
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