<prompt> Human: I turned 40 just over a month ago and for a number of reasons its a pretty glaring milestone in the history of ones life.On average youre half way to climbing into a coffin for a long well-deserved dirt nap and so naturally it makes sense to ponder your midterm report card.Whether you want to or not, its kind of human nature to look around to your peers...to see how you are matching up to your buddies - not so much as a dick measuring contest but more so simply as part of the global analysis.And 40 is a time in your life where some of your friends start to get those real promotions...the kind where they make partner or earn a seat in the Board Room or their business really takes off...the kind of step-up that makes it possible to never have to worry about money ever again if you play your cards right.But one thing I noticed is that so many people I know who are now pulling in this kind of dough are far from financial independence.I know a lot of couples earning well over 200k as a household and they still worry about money and not having enough.And the reason is lifestyle creep.They Call it Creep because Its SneakyIt happens to pretty much everybody whos ever earned more money than they used to.Take a look at your clothes. Your food. Your furniture. Your home. Your car. Your entertainment...and on and on and on.You upgrade almost all of this stuff - when you were perfectly happy ten years ago with a similar version that cost half as much.Instead of your favorite candy - youve now moved up to your favorite wine.Items that used to be luxury are now the norm and your new wants are things that never before entered your minds eye.Youre spending more because you have it - not because its truly necessary.Youve slowly but surely made a complete shift with regards to whats normal and over time far too many wants make their way over to the needs category.And all the while it never crosses your mind because its happening slowly, like the tortoise catching up with the hare.The Time to Catch ItAnd the time to nip this phenomenon in the bud is now. Because once you creep forward its pretty tough to creep back.Once youre used to wine and brie, its hard to enjoy Kool-Aid and Velveeta.Its hard to move back into a smaller house. Its hard to sell your flash new Audi to drive a used Toyota. Its hard to head back to the nosebleeds once youre used to box seats! Its hard to pack your lunch every day when you absolutely can afford to eat out every single day.Its much easier to beat lifestyle creep in advance - long before youre used to all these unnecessary upgrades.Why Dont You Fuck Off Back to rfrugal :Before the Why work hard to get ahead if youre not going to enjoy your money? retorts start rolling in...Im not saying that we shouldnt upgrade our lifestyles as we start to earn more money.Of course we should. Of course we should reward ourselves with nice things and vacations and new cars and bigger homes when appropriate. What I am saying is that we should do it consciously, in a deliberate manner - to make sure that our upgrades are measured and to ensure that our choices fit our personal tastes and that were not moving on up just because.We should upgrade our lives in such a way that we dont wind up earning twice as much money only to find that finances are just as tight as ever.The Simplest Stop GapThe easiest way to stop yourself from increasing expenditures in proportion to increased earnings is to set an actual number with regards to how greatly youll allow your lifestyle to creep.Some people like 5050.If you get a 10,000year raise - half is for improving quality of life and half goes straight into savings.Maybe a different ratio works better for you...just be sure you dont spend it all.Discover Whats Important to YouFor me Ive found that one of the best ways I have been able to control lifestyle creep is in being truly honest with myself about which aspects of my lifestyle are actually important to me. When we were living off an insanely tight budget to save up the money to build Gecko Rock we were able to truly see which luxuries we missed and which ones we didnt.We now spend money where it matters to us and get by with inferior goods where it doesnt really matter to us.My wife and I spend on travel but never pay full price for an item of clothing. We enjoy good food but would never dream of spending hundreds of dollars on a watch or jewelry.Find out whats important to you and spend your upgrade funds there...dont spend money to buy goods that are really only a luxury to someone else.  <response>: Ill foot stomp too. I lived comfortably in college with 1k a month. Now I make that every week. Anytime I react to my budget with why am I stuggling? I remember I need to keep my lifestyle in check. 