This is NPR's Life Kit. I'm Ruth Tam. There are some unpleasant things in life that can sneak up on us.

Things that come with warning signs, but are subtle and easy to ignore.

Maybe it's a deadline for an upcoming paper, or mold in a tub of yogurt you've left in your fridge.

In the world of personal finance, there's this phenomenon that has the same effect of all those things.

It's called lifestyle creep.

Lifestyle creep is this phenomenon that happens when you start to earn more money.

You also start to spend more money.

This is Paco Deleon, a writer, illustrator, and the author of the book, Finance for the People.

Like an advancing deadline or mold in your fridge, you don't notice your rising expenses until all of a sudden

you're shocked when your credit card bill is more than it's ever been.

When you have a very limited budget, this might be less likely to happen to you.

But when you start to make a little more money and don't have to eyeball your bank account after every purchase,

that's when the cost of your lifestyle can begin to creep up and start matching your salary.

For some of us, COVID may have contributed to this.

You moved into an apartment with cheaper rent when buildings were running deals and you weren't spending all this money on commuting.

And now your landlord is raising your rent to pre-pandemic rates and inflation is making everything more expensive.

If you have lifestyle creep, that means that your expenses are meeting

basically how much you're earning and you're not typically

saving more or you're not typically investing more. You are typically spending more.

So on this episode of LifeKit, how to manage your money and your emotions to avoid lifestyle creep.

What are common ways lifestyle creeps comprises people? Let's get some examples out here.

Sure. Housing is such a huge cost, right?

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