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Is More Money Just Leading to More Spending (Lifestyle Creep)? · Becoming Financially Confident

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  You got a raise or maybe your business is booming and that's awesome, but then
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  a few months later you look around and you realize you don't feel any wealthier.
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  Where did that newfound money even go?
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  What if I asked you if earning more money is just leading to more spending
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  and secretly stealing your progress?
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  Well stick with me today 'cause we're getting into it exactly how
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  to stop that cycle on today's show.
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  Hey there.
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  Welcome back to your Daily, financially Confident Christian.
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  I'm Ralph and it's generally great to be with you again today.
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  This is the show that helps you answer that question, how can I become a
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  financially confident Christian?
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  And we're continuing our series today dealing with that stress of money worries.
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  And we all know what that stress can feel like when we're always focused on money.
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  Now, yesterday we tackled the unique challenge of managing when you have
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  unpredictable income and how to bring some stability to those, what
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  I called feast or famine cycles.
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  I'm gonna encourage you to go check it out if you missed it.
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  Today we're gonna talk about a phenomenon that affects almost everyone.
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  And that doesn't matter what your income level is, it's regardless of your income
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  level, especially as your income grows and it's what I call lifestyle creep.
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  And it's not a creep that you wanna be around.
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  So let's ask today, is more money just leading to more spending that's lifestyle
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  creep, and is it happening in my life?
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  Maybe you've experienced this firsthand, you get a better job, or maybe you
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  get a raise or perhaps your business starts to really make more money.
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  You feel this immediate sense of relief even you might feel a little flushed.
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  Uh, we talked about that feeling yesterday on the show.
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  When you have, you have one of those great months perhaps, but then slowly and
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  sometimes without you even noticing it.
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  Your expenses just start to increase ever so slightly, and they tend to do that
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  right along with your income for you.
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  Maybe you upgrade your car or maybe like me, you eat out a little more
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  often, or maybe you decide I'm gonna subscribe to a new service.
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  Or maybe you think about that slightly pricier vacation.
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  And when you look at it overall individually, these
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  changes might seem small.
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  They're just this, and this little piece here and this little piece there.
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  But when you add them all up, they do add up to something bigger.
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  And the struggle is that realization that despite earning significantly
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  more, you know you got that raise.
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  You had a good month here, your business is booming and
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  it's more than you're used to.
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  But here's the problem.
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  You are not saving anymore.
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  You're not paying off debt any faster.
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  And the big takeaway from today is you don't feel any more financially secure.
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  All that extra income is just being consumed by an inflated lifestyle and
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  that lack of progress, that feeling of being on a financial treadmill, and
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  even if that treadmill is going at a higher speed, trust me, I've been there.
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  It's incredibly frustrating and it is incredibly stressful.
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  But here's the thing I want you to understand.
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  Today, you're missing out on the opportunity to build
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  real wealth and freedom.
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  Here's the thing.
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  You gotta understand Lifestyle creep sneaks in and it happens passively.
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  It's what happens when you don't actively decide where that
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  increased income is gonna go.
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  You don't have a plan for it, so it just gets absorbed by that increased spending.
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  Now I'm gonna be very candid with you.
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  Oftentimes I think it's driven by societal pressure and comparing ourselves to
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  others and comparing ourselves to those people we see on social media or the,
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  or those neighbors that we see that, oh, they've got the new car, or, Hey, you
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  just got back from a beautiful vacation.
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  In a lot of cases, it's simply a lack of intentionality.
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  I talk about that on this show all the time.
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  Many times, our financial mis cumings, for lack of a better term, are
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  just a lack of intentionality, and the Bible speaks directly to this.
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  It offers what I'll call a counter-cultural wisdom.
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  Let's look at the book of Hebrews chapter 13, verse five,
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  and it speaks directly to this.
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  It says, keep your lives free from the love of money.
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  Be content.
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  I love that word because that's the thing we need to focus on and
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  be content with what you have.
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  And then we look at Luke chapter 12, verse 15, and it warns us this.
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  And it starts out with a very bold warning.
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  It says, watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed.
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  And then it ends with this purely beautiful scripture that
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  we all could apply to our life.
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  Life does not consist in abundance of possessions.
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  I'll tell you what, I could hear that today, and I need to learn that myself.
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  Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.
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  I think we've all bought into this lifestyle creep, this culture that,
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  that, that we think that if we get more stuff, we have this abundance of
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  possessions that that's truly life.
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  And see, combating lifestyle creep requires intentionality.
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  It's something you gotta be intentional with and it's
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  actively choosing contentment.
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  We talked about that in that first Bible verse, the love of money
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  and be content with what you have.
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  See, we've gotta actively choose contentment over that
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  constant, state of upgrading.
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  And in the end, this is a hugely wise act of stewardship.
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  And it's our decision to direct our resources to what truly matters.
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  And that's the, that's the big takeaway from today.
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  What truly matters, your financial goals, your giving, and that future security,
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  rather than just letting it be eaten by unconscious spending, increases
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  driven by a desire and, and I hate to say this, a desire for just more stuff.
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  And in the end, it's really aligning your spending with your
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  values and with God's priorities.
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  not just allowing your lifestyle to expand to fill in that new income.
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  So now you're probably asking Ralph, great, what can we do?
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  How do we stop this lifestyle creep from robbing us of our financial
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  progress and our financial peace?
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  And I've got a solution today.
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  It comes down to intentionality and being proactive.
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  You gotta decide exactly where any increase in income is going
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  to go, and then allocate that to specific financial goals before
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  you get used to spending the money.
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  In the end, it means that you become the boss of your money, especially new money,
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  and you're telling it where to work for you instead of just letting it disappear
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  into that abyss of increased spending.
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  So here's your one vital action step for day, and this is specifically laser
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  focused on combating that lifestyle creep.
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  I want you to start by identifying any recent or expected income increases.
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  Think about raises that you've gotten, or maybe you've got a bonus coming up,
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  or you've got a big raise coming up, or maybe your business is growing and and
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  you're seeing it, you're gonna have some.
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  Additional income.
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  So be prepared for that, be understanding of that.
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  Then I want you to decide where it's gonna go.
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  I want, this is a step of being proactive.
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  Before that extra money even hits your, your checking account, or, or
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  as soon as it does, you gotta decide exactly what percentage or what
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  amount's gonna go towards those specific financial goals that you've created.
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  Maybe this is based on your overall financial plan.
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  Maybe you want to think about accelerating that debt payoff,
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  or maybe you need to really work on growing that emergency fund.
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  Maybe you've got that, what we call that starter, that baby emergency
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  fund, but, but this is a great opportunity to really expand it.
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  Maybe this is a great opportunity to expand your savings goals.
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  Or, here's one, how about increasing your giving, but you've gotta make a
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  concrete plan for that extra income.
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  Now, you might be saying to me, Ralph, hey, guess what?
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  Spending has already crept up for me.
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  And if you've already had that income increase, but you feel like your spending
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  has just inflated over time, one of the things that you can do to stop
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  it right now is go back and look at your tracking data and identify maybe
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  one, two, or three areas where you've seen those expenses subtly increase.
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  And maybe it did it without you making this conscious decision
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  just kind of happen over time.
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  Now, some of that's inflation, but some of it's just, you know, I allowed
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  that lifestyle creep to happen.
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  I'm gonna encourage you to reduce your budget, reduce your spending
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  in those areas, and reallocate back to those goals that you've set.
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  And then last but not least, just plan ahead.
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  I want you to make a commitment that for any future increases income,
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  that you'll have a plan for that money before you even receive it.
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  For example, maybe you say, Hey, 80% of any raise goes to debt payoff, and
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  then yes, I'll blow 20% of it for fun.
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  But you're being intentional with that from day one and see this
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  single action, it directly fights that struggle of earning more but
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  not feeling financially ahead.
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  I hear that from so many people, and it ensures that increased income actually
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  translates into accelerated progress towards your debt freedom or your savings
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  goals, or your overall financial piece.
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  I love this part.
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  It really replaces that passive spending with intentional allocation, where
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  you're aligning your money with your deepest values and your priorities,
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  and truly being a wise steward.
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  Let's pray together now.
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  Father God, thank you for the income and the resources that you provide.
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  We confess that as our income increases, we often fall prey to
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  that 'lifestyle creep.' We allow our spending to rise unconsciously.
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  So we ask that you would grant us wisdom, Lord, and and mostly grant us self-control
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  to recognize this pattern and to resist that pattern and help us to be intentional
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  stewards of every dollar, especially when we see increases that you've
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  given us, Lord, directing it towards your purposes and our financial goals.
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  We ask that you would cultivate in us a spirit of contentment and protect
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  us from that love of money that you so eloquently warn us against, and that
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  pressure to constantly consume more.
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  Lord, guide us in using our resources for lasting peace and lasting impact.
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  And we ask this in confidence.
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  In Jesus' name, Amen.
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  Listen.
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  Be intentional with every dollar that you earn.
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  Don't let that lifestyle creep.
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  Steal your progress towards that financial freedom and that financial
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  piece that you're working so hard to get to make a plan for any
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  increased income before you spend it.
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  You're choosing progress overpass consumption.
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  If identifying and fighting lifestyle creep feels like a challenge that
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  you need to address, maybe you know somebody else that does as well.
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  And I'm gonna encourage you to share this episode with them 'cause it may help them.
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  You can find resources and connect with the show at our website that's at
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  financially confident christian.com.
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  And while you're there, I've got a special gift for you on the journey.
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  For the first 100 listeners who go to financially confident
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  christian.com/master, I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.
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  It's called Mastering Your Finances.
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  Now, this is a quick, powerful read, designed as a starting point to help
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  you break that cycle of financial shame and step into confidence.
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  Again, go to financially confident christian.com/master
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  and get your free copy today.
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  Now, tomorrow we're gonna be talking about one of the biggest financial
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  decisions that many people face.
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  That's deciding if a home is the right financial move for you
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  and how to assess affordability.
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  That's a episode you don't want to miss.
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  So make sure you join me and let's all go out there and be financially confident.
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  Christians, you can do this.
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  I have confidence in you.
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  Have confidence in yourself.
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  Stay financially savvy.
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  God bless you, and you have a great day today.