sailaway wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:46 am
Lifestyle creep is the opposite of well considered choices to increase spending.
Creep happens when you skip the well considered step. When you think "well, I got a raise, now I deserve X" vs "my situation has changed, how does that affect my goals and priorities?"
This ^
"Creep" suggests something not under one's conscious control.
Here is a definition, first thing that popped up on Google:
Definition of "creep": "move slowly and carefully in order to avoid being heard or noticed."
And that's exactly a big part of the potential problem...
that the increased spending or "nicer" lifestyle isn't really even noticed!
It may not be noticed in the sense of, "Maybe we should consider getting a new house", without a reason, vs. "This house is so nice; we've been here x years and we still feel so happy/fortunate to be able to live here".
[Note: We are heading into year 21, and still sometimes sit in the driveway, mumbling, "I can't believe we are living in a house like THIS! This really is the cutest house ever!" And we sure do feel fortunate, still!]
Or, worse, the increased spending isn't noticed, except perhaps for "why are we still so short of money!?"
So I wouldn't consider choosing "nicer living circumstances to be "lifestyle creep" IF it's considered and within budget - a budget that includes saving, etc.
Whether something is "too much" is difficult for others to judge. It's the thoughtful decision making that should be involved if one is upping one's "circumstances".
Some may want to spend more on a big house. Others on a fancy car. Yet others on lots of travel... etc.
And some may be fortunate enough to be pretty much content. Presumably, any lifestyle changes (creep or not) have already happened. Most probably aren't still living like a poor student, in a creaky walk-up room with a bathroom down the hall.
And NOTE: For some people, such accommodations would be considered LUXURIOUS.
A lot of this is extremely relative, and it's very easy to lose sight of the
real alternatives.
As has been written here before:
At some point, "you can have [almost] anything you want. You can't have everything you want."
RM
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