But living paycheck to paycheck to most people definitely does include spending one’s money on non-bill things like lotto tickets, consumer goods, restaurants, and things beyond their means.
Thing is it's absolutely possible to scale up your spending to any income level. And this is indeed what happens with many people, this is how you get these NYT pieces on households struggling on $500k. If you go by this the whole expression is kinda meaningless.
There is a guy on YouTube that runs a channel called "I will teach you to be rich". Part of his content is like a call-in radio show, where people share their trainwreck expenses. It is unbelievable how people spend their money. And these are people frequently earning over 200K USD per year. If you watch more than a few episodes they all sound the same, and it is very hard to have any sympathy for their wasteful spending habits. When confronted by the host about various line items in their shared budget, the guests (invariably!) have unlimited excuses why this or that cannot be cut. Most people that I know that are earning more than 50% above median income are incredibly wasteful spenders. Most of them are in for a huge shock in their 50s when thinking about retirement.
Almost all of us are wasteful spenders in our own ways. The point of that guys show is to teach people to only spend money in ways that really matter to them. But, my matters might (likely) be your wasteful.
Maybe not any income level. Well, you can buy Twitter I suppose. But, yes, you can fly Netjets or whatever, buy supercars, have a bunch of personal staff, and eat out at Michelin-starred restaurants on a regular basis. And burn through certainly multiple $100Ks or even 6 figures annually pretty quickly.
There was once a billionaire in Brazil who blew it all.
Instead of Netjets you can own your own jet(s). Instead of restaurants you can buy them or have the chef come to your house. At the extreme end, you can start a space program.
Yeah. I sometimes feel like I'm being a bit extravagant but it's pretty small-scale in the scheme of things. No interest in multiple homes, yachts, jets, etc. Don't even eat out all that much except when I'm relatively modestly traveling.
Because when you look at the people in those surveys who “live paycheck to paycheck,” there’s an awful lot of them who say “after we pay for the mortgage and the car loans and groceries and max out our 401ks and contribute to the vacation fund, there’s nothing left.”
It definitely does not mean lotto tickets and restaurants. People living paycheck to paycheck do not go to restaurants. If you are going to restaurants it means you have funds AFTER bare expenses. Paycheck to paycheck means just enough to survive.
We definitely live in a time when one can create their own inflation. Khaki's in the USA can range from sub $50 to $900+. One can decide what is the correct price for our pants.
I think lifestyle creep is too general of a description.
The difference between $900 pants and $50 pants is more than lifestyle creep. I see it as indicative of a stratified society. Previous times had wealthy paying more for clothes but it showed in workmanship or materials.
In the words of Lucille Blutb:
How much could a banana cost, $10?
I see Lifestyle creep as an individual gradually spending more for meals and cloths
Not that I really go to Vegas much any longer (thank the stars!) but when I did for conferences regularly, I'd go into some of the shopping malls and would be (not really literally but close) "I couldn't afford a single thing in this store!"
But living paycheck to paycheck to most people definitely does include spending one’s money on non-bill things like lotto tickets, consumer goods, restaurants, and things beyond their means.