Episode 511: Lifestyle Creep

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I saw a post on IG from The Broken Wallet talking about 10 ways to avoid lifestyle creep.

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_00]: I looked at it and thought that many of us could relate, so I figured I'd explain it

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: to my listeners who don't know what it is.

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Dreas Point of View.

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I am your host, Andrea, and for the next 10 minutes or less, I would love to talk to you

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_00]: about a topic that I feel passionate about.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I invite you to follow the show at Dreas Point of View on IG, Pinterest, Threads, and Facebook.

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_00]: You can also follow at Dreas Point on X and Spill.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_00]: What is lifestyle creep?

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_00]: It's when over time your luxuries become your necessities and you're spending more money

[00:01:12] [SPEAKER_00]: and not enjoying it.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Some examples of lifestyle creep are ordering takeout more but not enjoying it.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Hmm, that's interesting.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm buying things on IG that you don't enjoy.

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: You know those ads that you see every time you're scrolling, you're constantly buying something

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_00]: that looks interesting but you're not really getting anything out of it?

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Having many subscriptions that you don't enjoy, and that's relatable because all

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_00]: of these subscriptions that I have for this streaming, I don't know.

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I should have kept cable.

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Renting or buying a place to live that is too big for you.

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_00]: According to huffpost.com, some upsides to lifestyle creep are having a better quality

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_00]: of life and feeling motivated to get more.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_00]: A downside is having less savings because you are spending more.

[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_00]: The creator of the broke black girl blog who is also a financial activist at Chime says

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_00]: as your income increases, so does your spending.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Often on things that don't add value.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Also according to the post, there are some ways to avoid lifestyle creep.

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_00]: You can stick to your budget even if you have more money.

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: I know some of us do tend to spend more once we make more.

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: You can use extra money to grow your savings.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Pick one thing to upgrade each year, be it your Wi-Fi or your phone.

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: For everything that you splurge on, save somewhere else.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Those of you who are in that Starbucks line.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_00]: See if you could save that money on something else.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Look at what you've upgraded to see if it was worth it.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Be grateful for what you have instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses.

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, so many of us are obsessed with getting that new iPhone once it comes out in the fall.

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I know I used to be one of them, not so much now.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm good with maybe every two years getting an upgrade.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_00]: But I do think that my eye watch was probably a bit much.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I could have stayed with the old one or just getting rid of it all together.

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It's really just one more thing to charge.

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: According to investopedia.com, there are some budgeting methods.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_00]: One is 50-30-20.

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That says 50% of your check goes to what you need.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00]: 30% goes towards what you want.

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And 20% goes to savings.

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Another method is the 70-20-10 rule.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_00]: It says that 70% should go towards your living expenses.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: 20% goes towards your savings.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_00]: And 10% goes to donations.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Keeping a close eye on your expenses each month is the best way to avoid lifestyle creep.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Rocket Monkey is an app that can let you know about your subscriptions and how much you're expected to spend each week.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And I know there are some banks that will send you texts on certain purchases as well as your balance.

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Now, if you've experienced lifestyle creep, I would love to know how you handled it.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: You can let me know at Dreya's Point of View at yahoo.com.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Also, don't forget to sign up for my free weekly newsletter at Dreya's Point of View dot substack dot com.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_00]: As always, I thank you for listening.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: This has been Dreya's Point of View.