Lifestyle Inflation: What It Is and How to Prevent It

Modern house with pool
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Jun 9, 2021 last_updated min_read

Have you noticed that the more money you earn, the more you spend, and no amount seems to be enough to satisfy your needs and leave enough for reasonable savings? You might feel 100% sure your problems would go away as soon as you start earning more, but once you do… They don’t actually go anywhere.

If that’s what you’re feeling – you’re not alone. This phenomenon is known as lifestyle inflation or lifestyle creep. Why creep? Because you never notice it coming! Lifestyle inflation is the reason why some never seem to get rich even as they get promoted, start better-paying jobs, or take up various side hustles. Let’s see how you can prevent it and how Honeygain can help you in the process!

What Causes Lifestyle Inflation? 🤔

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Lifestyle inflation simply means boosting your lifestyle standard as your earnings grow. Most people first face this issue when they graduate from college or university and get their first well-paying jobs. After living the frugal dorm life for a few years, the urge to treat yourself once you become a financially stable adult is hard to resist: haven’t you deserved a better apartment? Shouldn’t you get a car instead of sweating on your bike?

The trouble is, while some changes are important and needed, allowing yourself something extra brings instant satisfaction – which is very easy to get caught up in. If you’re not careful, you might end up spending a lot more than necessary, and saving up will turn out to be just as hard (if not harder) as it was when you were a student with a part-time barista job.

Is Spending More Always Bad? 🛍️

Let’s be clear: we’re not saying you shouldn’t aim for a higher quality of life, more comfort, and higher satisfaction. You work hard, and you deserve to be rewarded for it. The thing is, if you look a little more carefully, you’ll see not all extra spendings are actually adding much to your quality of life – and they’re not all necessary, either.

Let’s take a simple example. There are two ways to spend more on food: you can either get higher quality (more natural and nutritious) products or regular restaurant takeaways. The first option improves your life by making you healthier and possibly prolonging your life, while the second one often does quite the opposite… And usually costs more, too!

A luxurious house

Similarly, when you’re single, a 500 ft apartment is enough – but if you decide to get married and start a family, you’ll probably need to change your living situation. There’s no doubt these are reasonable expenses. However, you should be realistic about your needs and financial capabilities: do you really need a 5000 ft mansion with a swimming pool and massive monthly mortgage payments? We thought so.

Simple Tips to Prevent Lifestyle Inflation 🧑‍🏫

The main issue with lifestyle inflation is the fact that as you tend to spend more, you become incapable of saving (e.g., having an emergency or retirement fund), and if you really get sucked into it, you might even accumulate debt. Don’t worry – there are a few ways to prevent this, and even save enough for early retirement! Honeygain can help you, too!

1. Plan and limit your splurges 📝

Keeping to your college-year budget for years despite graduation, promotions, and reaching milestones is simply not realistic. If you try not to spend an additional dime

anywhere, only buy the absolute necessities, and never treat yourself, you might not enjoy your life much.

bee with a cup of coffe

There’s no need to forbid yourself from small luxuries completely – nevertheless, it’s smart to set a limit. For example, if you love Starbucks, get it on Fridays instead of every morning – plus, here's a fun fact: if you buy takeaway coffee once a week, one Honeygain payout can cover these expenses for an entire month!

2. Be open with your friends 🗣️

Are you familiar with the saying ‘keeping up with the Joneses’? Simply put, it means constantly comparing yourself to your peers and neighbors in terms of social status and desperately trying to ‘keep up’. Unfortunately, this often results in people living beyond their means… which then causes their mates to do the same. It’s a hopeless lifestyle inflation loop! If we were each a bit more honest with one another, we’d see the real situation a lot better and feel a lot less pressure to impress.

3. Clean up your social media 🤳

Comparing your life with your mates’ is bad enough – but these days, we are bombarded by dreamy and luxurious images of celebrities and influencers in our every step online. Scrolling through pictures of breathtaking beaches, it’s easy to start thinking you need a pricey holiday, too – and don’t even get us started on all the expensive products constantly promoted by social media moguls. Do some spring cleaning on your social media feeds and unfollow all the accounts that get you itching to spend money on stuff you don’t need!

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4. Set up automatical savings 🏦

It’s hard to spend money you don’t ever see! Most banks offer an option of setting up automatic payments to your savings account: once a month, a predefined sum of money gets automatically transferred to your savings. Most people pick a day that’s close to their salary payment: they get their earnings, and a part of it is saved automatically, without them ever getting a chance to get their hands on it. It’s especially easy to do right after a raise: you don’t even feel the deduction when you’re not yet used to getting paid more!

5. Generate and save passive income 💵

If you have a little extra time for generating some free money on the side, saving it or using it for investments instead of spending is a great idea. The money doesn’t come out of your main salary, so you don’t feel the loss as painfully – and yet you’re able to grow your savings! Passive income apps are especially convenient in this case, as they provide an additional earning source with you barely needing to spend any time or effort.

The most effortless way to generate passive income, grow your savings, and fight the disadvantages of lifestyle inflation is using Honeygain. Once you download the app on your desktop or mobile device(s), install it, and sign up, you don’t really need to do much else: just keep the app running in the background as you go around your day and watch your earnings grow. More income streams translate to stronger financial stability and a better chance to save – which is crucial to anyone worried about lifestyle inflation!

Earning effortlessly with Honeygain

Never tried Honeygaining before? Why waste your valuable time when your devices could be generating free money already? Click the button below to sign up and receive an instant 💰 $2 gift to help your Honeygaining journey gain speed! 🚀

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