A higher salary can change a lot, but it does not always change how secure a person feels about money. As earnings grow, expenses can grow quietly too, making it difficult to understand where the extra income is actually going.That question came up in a recent Reddit discussion after a 28-year-old professional spoke about his own finances. He asked fellow users whether lifestyle inflation was affecting him and how they managed rising expenses without making everyday life unnecessarily restrictive.
From ₹25,000 salary to ₹1.2 lakh
The Reddit user said he was earning ₹25,000 a month in 2021. His monthly income has now reached ₹1.2 lakh.Despite the increase, he said the financial pressure has not disappeared.“I went from ₹25k/month in 2021 to ₹1.2L today, but somehow the financial stress has not really gone away,” he wrote.His income is divided between rent, family support, SIPs and everyday expenses. After these payments, he said only ₹5,000 to ₹8,000 usually remains towards the end of the month.
Reddit post
When an unexpected expense comes up, that amount is also generally used, according to his post.This prompted him to ask other Reddit users how they deal with lifestyle inflation while still maintaining a comfortable life.
Reddit users focus on spending habits
The replies largely centred on understanding spending rather than simply earning more.One commenter said that it can be useful to separate necessary spending from purchases that are wants.“On your wants buddy, for needs 25K PM is also enough, someday sit around and calculate how much you spend on your food mind you home cooked and necessary meals not outings and shit.”Another user said that keeping track of seemingly minor expenses had changed how they viewed their own spending.“One day me and my friend started calculating our unexpected expenses which included sutta breaks, random eating out(despite paying for cook simultaneously), drink and fuel for geti. It turned out around 3-4 lac per person in around 4-5 months. Yeah, start accounting man,” wrote another.
‘Lifestyle inflation creeps in quietly’
One Reddit user pointed specifically to the gradual nature of lifestyle inflation.“Lifestyle inflation usually creeps in quietly, track where the extra ₹95 is going for 2 – 3 months first easier to cut once you can actually see the leaks,” suggested a third user.The commenter recommended observing expenses over a period of two to three months to get a clearer picture of spending.Another user suggested using an expense tracking app and including investments in the record.“Everyone gets hit by lifestyle inflation. That control lies with you and don’t consider SIP as an expense. Use any expense tracking app on your phone and record all expenses and investments in that – do this for 3 months and you’ll get a fiar idea of where is the additonal money going,” said another.
Don’t rush into lifestyle upgrades
A different suggestion was to delay major changes in spending after receiving a salary increase.“One way of getting it right is, when your earning rises from 25k to 1.2L, live for atleast one more year as if your income is still 25k. What usually happens is people go crazy in upgrading their lifestyle immediately and spend on unnecessary things. When upgrading is possible, do it gradually. Financial maturity doesnt come overnight, that’s why I said live as you were for at least one more year. Your emotions and spending instincts would be under control by then,” wrote one user.Disclaimer: This article is based on a Reddit post and comments shared by users on the platform. The views expressed in the comments are those of the individual users and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Times of India.Thumb image: Canva (for representative purposes only)
