Comments on: Lifestyle Creep

By: Debt Help

Debt Help — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:24:04 +0000

Good post on how people can begin to spiral out – easily done. But almost as easily fixed. All about a lifestyle change in my opinion.

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:23:30 +0000

Some very timely advice here. Despite earning high salaries many folks can’t keep pace with the cost of lifestyle creep and it takes discpline to rein in spending!

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:02:31 +0000

I have a question though. What if you suddenly got a HUGE raise i.e. double or triple your salary next year . Is it possible to avoid lifestyle creep at all?

I think it would be very difficult. Early on in people’s careers, they accelerate quickly and generally hit a wall.

I hit an income wall at 30, and believe I’ll be hovering in my range for the next 10 years. I hope I can still increase, but as they say, trees don’t grow to the sky!

Would love to hear the communities thoughts.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:06:51 +0000

I am in the same situation as SavingDiva – avoiding Lifestyle Creep by going back to school. It certainly leads to a stark realization that it’s a lot easier to get by as a worker bee! I often miss the days of a paycheck and health insurance benefits, seriously.
Jerry

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:45:49 +0000

Hi Single Ma,

You are so right! My husband and I have done really well (we are mid-20s) but live WELL below our means. We budget every paycheck within a few dollars, and off it goes before it arrives. When we were house hunting, you better believe I crunched the numbers on every house we liked – researched the property tax, value over time, utilities (we live in the desert), even the alarm system cost! When we finally found a home we loved, we not only were able to pay cash for it (thus making for an excellent deal!) but we now know we have enough put away for a rainy day (or an unusually large bill.) We did end up buying a much larger house than we originally planned on, but because it was a foreclosure and cash (or pre-approval) talks, we got an excellent deal in a great neighborhood, and the value will only increase. (As in, we looked at many 1700 sq ft homes, and ending up buying a 2800 sq ft home for the SAME PRICE, only 10 years old with no issues other than a couple broken roof tiles, a missing fridge, and a broken window!) We are thinking of renting out the separate guest quarters for a little extra income to stash away.

I started reading you long ago when you were Single Ma and Money – maybe 3-4 years? Not sure. But you definitely set me on the right track (my husband’s also good with money, thankfully) and we have you to thank for getting us where we are today. Granted, I was raised a dave Ramseyite too… :)