Do you find yourself wondering at the end of each month: “Where did my paycheck go? Why does it feel like I never save money after paying for everything else?” Do you constantly feel envious of what others have? Feeling unfulfilled, even depressed? This can be due to the phenomenon of lifestyle creep, also called lifestyle inflation. For more on what this is, some examples, its effect on your mental wellbeing, and how to prevent lifestyle inflation, keep reading! (or watch my Youtube video below!)
What is Lifestyle Creep?
So the first question is: what is lifestyle inflation? This occurs when your salary or total amount of income goes up, but you find you’re not saving any more than before. This usually means that your spending and lifestyle are increasing proportionally to your income. As income goes up, you spend more.
Why Does It Occur?
We love to fantasize about what we’d do if we had more money: have a more spacious home, indulge in certain luxuries we can’t afford now, make a better life for ourselves. We look at our current life, and we look at where we want to be. It’s so common to imagine what we’d do with a winning lottery ticket. But more often, we fantasize about something we see as much more likely: moving up on the career ladder. This is within our reach; it’s almost a certainty if we work hard enough. And with that promotion comes a pay raise. We can almost taste it; so we’re more likely to envision what we’ll do with it. Those actions usually involve some sort of indulgence that we might not be able to have presently.
Envy is the Enemy
Our relationships with others can also play a part in lifestyle creep. Say you didn’t have the newest toy as a child: little “Billy” had the coolest new water gun, and you only had a simple squirt gun. Maybe all the other kids decided to go play with “Billy” rather than you, or maybe “Billy” himself snubbed you and rubbed his new toy in your face. Or perhaps you’ve always been in a rivalry with a sibling, vying to be “better” than him/her. Maybe a nearby neighbor always seems to have the hottest new car, and you just want to show him up, just once.
When we focus on the material possessions someone has, or the prestige or status they appear to enjoy, we can get bitten by the bug of envy. We see more of what “we” don’t have, and what “they” do have. We think more in terms of what we are aiming towards, and less on where we already are.
When we focus on where we have not yet gone, we measure our success in terms of these dreams. If we don’t achieve them quickly, we may feel we are failures. We don’t measure our current progress from where we came from. We therefore feel unfulfilled, unsatisfied.
When We Do Get the Raise…
At this point, we’re fueled by daydreams of the future, jealousy of others and a desire to outdo them. So now, we get the raise or the income increase. Now we can enjoy what we’ve always wanted! We can upgrade our home, go on nicer and longer vacations, enjoy fancy dinners out. We indulge once, twice, three times. We love it, and we figure, there’s no harm in eating out half the week, we can afford it now. We can get a nicer car, we can afford it now.
But soon, we get used to our new circumstances. The novelty wears off, and these wonderful luxuries are now a part of everyday life. Now it would feel like a sacrifice to go back to that dependable Honda, or eating out once a week or a couple times a month. We love our new lifestyle.
Then we see a fancy new electronic gadget: wouldn’t it be awesome if we could get that? A few years goes by, and the neighbor or the sibling upgrades their car: wouldn’t it be awesome if we could do that too? They just decided to rent a nice boat: wow, doesn’t that look like fun?
When Is It Enough?
According to a study on perception of associated comfort at different income levels, people at varying income brackets were asked how much money they’d need to earn in order to be comfortable. Those that made $20K per year said $50K would be great. Those that made $50K said $100K would be perfect. Those with a salary of $100K said $200K would be just right.
As we make more, it’s easy to spend it on new luxuries that we weren’t able to previously afford. Our lifestyle increases as our salary does. Or we decide we need to have a higher savings goal than we did before, in order to be truly comfortable in the future: so we need to earn more so we can save more.
But when is it enough? There’s always going to be someone who’s better off than you, who’s a bit more comfortable than you. No matter whether you make $50K or $1 million a year, a billionaire is always going to have more opportunities. If you’re not careful, you could get raise after raise, and still be chasing castles in the air.
Effect of Lifestyle Creep on your Mental Wellbeing
When you focus too much on material possessions, or when you’re constantly trying to aim for the “next best thing,” you’re focusing less on the things that can actually make you happy.
When you focus on physical goods, you look forward to getting that wonderful new “toy.” You crave it, you eagerly await its arrival; that anticipation is part of what makes it enjoyable. The thrill of expectation, of not knowing what it will be like, of seeing and using it for the first time. Then when you get it, and you enjoy it for a while, the newness wears off. The joy associated with this purchase is fleeting. You start to look for something else that will bring that rush of pleasure again.
Say you don’t have room in your current budget for this new toy. You may start to feel resentful that you can’t afford it. You may start to look at other buckets in your budget, ones that normally would be important to you, and say, “Hmm, maybe if I just take the money out of this fund, and then just replenish it later…” This selfish tendency can be difficult to fend off once the thought enters your head.
In addition, how you view and measure your success in life influences your mental wellbeing. If you measure your success solely in terms of how quickly you get to where you think you should be, then you may feel unfulfilled if you don’t rise up the ladder that fast. If you compare your slow and steady progress to others’ rocketing successes, this can also lead to dissatisfaction.
How to Prevent Lifestyle Creep
To avoid the downfall of lifestyle inflation, focus on your progress in life just as much as your goals. Don’t discount how far you’ve come to date! Measure your progress in total, from the time you started working to present day. Compare your progress only to you, not to anyone else. I’ll bet you’re better off in one way or another. Be proud of that progress you’ve made! For more on this, a wonderful book called “The Gap and the Gain” by Dan Sullivan highlights this change in thinking and the benefits that can arise from it.
Focus on the simple pleasures gained in everyday life. Rather than simply looking forward to what’s next, enjoy the delightful everyday experiences. Enjoy a walk outside in the sun and fresh air, every day. Take pleasure in delectable meals. Enjoy outings with your family. Enjoy a local festival. Spend some time doing something creative. When you enjoy life every day in one way or another, your life will seem filled with good things and joy. When you focus more on these types of things, you’ll find it’s easier to maintain your current lifestyle and remain happy.
Takeaway
Lifestyle creep can slowly eat away at your budget and lead to feelings of unfulfillment. When you’re more focused on material items, prestige, and future possibilities, it’s easy to be less happy with your current lot in life. When you focus more on intangible things, everyday pleasures, and how far you’ve come to date, you can feel more satisfied with life in general.
You might also enjoy:
- 8 Habits to Live a More Intentional Life
- How to Be More Kind in Everyday Life
- How to Make the Most of Every Day
- How to Detox from your Smartphone & Social Media
- 10 Simple, Relaxing Self Care Ideas
Cover image photo credit: IStockPhoto.com/AndresGarciaM
