Lifestyle Creep: The Silent Thief of Your Future

My darling,

You’re about to step into your first full-time job, and I couldn’t be prouder of you. You’ve worked hard and now you’ll be earning a salary that many young people your age would be thrilled to have. I know you’re excited about what this income will allow you to do — buy the things you’ve wanted, go out with your friends, maybe even start planning bigger dreams.

But before you rush ahead, I want to share a lesson I wish someone had spelled out for me when I was 18: beware of lifestyle creep.

Lifestyle creep happens when, as your income increases, your spending increases right alongside it. You start out with just a few little luxuries — a nicer phone, a wardrobe upgrade, daily takeaway coffees — but before you know it, your expenses match your earnings.

No matter how much you make, it never feels like enough, because your lifestyle keeps expanding. That’s why even celebrities and sports stars who earned millions have gone bankrupt. They thought the money would never end, so they let their lifestyles run ahead of their wealth.

The trap of lifestyle creep is subtle because it doesn’t feel like a problem. You can afford it — so why not upgrade? Why not treat yourself? Why not say yes to the holiday, the car, the nicer apartment?

But here’s the important lesson: it’s not about whether you can afford it today, it’s about whether it builds the life you want tomorrow. If you keep spending every extra bit of income on lifestyle upgrades, you’ll find yourself trapped in the same cycle many adults are — living pay cheque to pay cheque, even on a good salary.

Experts say: "It's not how much you earn that matters most, but how much you keep!"

Here are a few guiding principles I want you to hold close as you step into this new season:

• Create (and stick to) a budget. Decide ahead of time how much will go into savings, how much will cover your needs and how much is for fun.

• Pay yourself first. Automate savings the moment your salary arrives, so you don’t even see that money as spendable. Your "future-you" will thank you.

• Prioritise your goals. Is that overseas trip, business idea or first home deposit important to you? Then make sure your money serves those dreams before it serves temporary wants.

• Be mindful of social pressure. Don’t buy things just because friends have them or because you feel you “should” now that you’re earning.

• Beware of unnecessary upgrades. A car that works is better than a car that drains your finances. A simple phone that does the job is better than a flashy one that traps you in debt.

• Escape the comparison trap. You don’t need to measure your success by what others wear, drive or spend. It's probably funded by debt!

• Challenge the “I deserve this” mindset. You do deserve good things — but real freedom comes from waiting, saving and choosing wisely.

• Buy assets, not liabilities. Put money into things that grow in value — investments, skills, even your own business ideas — rather than into things that lose value the moment you buy them.

I’m not telling you this to dampen your excitement. Quite the opposite — I want you to taste the kind of freedom that comes from living below your means, building a cushion of savings and using money as a tool to create choices, not chains.

Your salary can either lock you into a cycle of constant spending or it can open doors to financial independence, adventure and generosity.

So, my girl, as you step into this new chapter, remember: don’t let lifestyle creep steal your future. Make smart choices today and you’ll build a strong, secure tomorrow.

With all my love,
Mom