Lifestyle creep is the concept that as your income rises, you increase your spending.
Nick Maggiulli from Of Dollars And Data found some data and was surprised to learn that perhaps lifestyle creep is a bit of a myth?
Why Lifestyle Creep is Mostly a Myth [Of Dollars And Data] – “After reviewing the data, I can say that lifestyle creep doesn’t seem to be a major issue for most people. In general, as households grow their income, they either spend less overall or increase their spending slightly over time. It’s a small minority of households that truly “creep” their spending upward. This doesn’t mean that lifestyle creep doesn’t exist, but that the fears of it are greatly exaggerated.”
In other words, lifestyle creep happens but it’s not automatic. And not a huge problem, though it can be for some.