Let's Talk... Lifestyle Inflation

My wife and I moved into a new apartment on Friday.

And let me tell you, our new apartment is a much-needed upgrade.

I know, I know… avoid “lifestyle creep” at all costs.

To the FinX community, it’s a cardinal sin to spend anything more than the bare minimum to survive. Every spare dollar should be invested in dividend-paying stocks so you can retire at 42 with a portfolio worth $967,000 paying you $37,000 per year.

But I don’t subscribe to that way of thinking.

Here’s the deal…

For the past 5 years, the two apartments we’ve lived in were 480 sqft (felt like a prison cell) and 810 sqft (better, but still small). And we’ve always kept our rent below 20% of our take-home pay.

We continued to live like students and be frugal after graduating college so we could:

a. Spend money traveling while we were young

b. Build a strong financial foundation that would set us up for the future

And we’ve done just that!

So, now it’s time to spend a little extra money and upgrade our home base.

We just happened to find a killer deal on a 2bed/2bath with a balcony a few blocks down from us that we couldn’t pass up.

Yes, it is going to be a little more expensive, but our rent will still be below 25% of our take-home pay (the maximum amount I believe you should pay for rent or a mortgage).

We’re at a point in our lives where a bigger space makes the most sense for us.

• We plan to start a family

• We both work from home

• We’re in a good position financially

But my wife and I vowed this will be our last stop before buying a home (thank goodness, I’m tired of moving).

Look, not upgrading your lifestyle is supposed to be temporary while you build the base of your financial foundation. Ideally, this is in your early/mid 20s. Once you have a strong foundation, by all means, spend some money on the things that make you happy and bring you joy.

What is the point of working hard and saving & investing if you’re not going to enjoy some of it?

Well, I should probably go unpack some boxes…

Darrell