Rich Habits Podcast

142: You Just Got a Raise! Don't Let Lifestyle Creep Steal It

17 snips
Nov 3, 2025
Discover how to make your raise work for you instead of disappearing into lifestyle creep. The hosts reveal the dangers of hedonic adaptation and how costs for housing and transportation can quickly eat up your income. They advocate for the 50-50 rule—saving or investing half of any raise—and emphasize the importance of automating savings. Learn strategies to track lifestyle inflation and avoid new recurring expenses. Plus, get practical tips for relocating to higher-cost areas and insights on growing retirement contributions smartly.
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INSIGHT

Why Raises Vanish Into Lifestyle Creep

  • Lifestyle creep makes raises feel like free money but erodes wealth quickly.
  • Small upgrades often consume the entire raise, leaving you no better off.
ADVICE

Make Investing Nonnegotiable

  • Invest as the only realistic way to stop trading time for money and achieve retirement freedom.
  • Start investing early to let a nest egg grow over time.
INSIGHT

Baseline Recalibration After Raises

  • Your brain recalibrates your baseline after a raise, making upgrades feel normal.
  • Those small, justified changes add up to the amount of your raise or more.
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