Here's How To Finally Stop Living Above Your Means

If you are like most Americans, you may be struggling to keep up with your regular bills and unexpected expenses. The hard reality is that there is a high number of families that are one paycheck away from not being able to meet their basic living expenses, meaning they live paycheck to paycheck. While this may seem to be the norm, this is a dangerous and highly stressful way to live life and can make for an emergency situation in cases where unexpected situations pop up. If you are feeling the squeeze and are looking for another way to live life, it will likely take some reframing and rethinking your habits, priorities, and understanding of the way things are. And if you think you can earn your way out of it, think again.

Lifestyle Creep

You may have heard it called a number of things, but lifestyle creep is essentially spending more as you make more. Ever notice that when you get a raise, somehow you end up with just as little money left over at the end of the month? Or how you think back ten years and realize money was just as tight then when you were making half as much as you are now? This is the phenomenon that happens when you don’t have a thorough budget that you track to control where your money is spent (or not.) Life is full of trade-offs. It’s absolutely okay to spend money on things and experiences you want, need, and love. Where lifestyle creep comes in is when you end up spending money on things that don’t matter to you but seem to find a way of eating into your income- and future goals.

Learn to Say No

Again, you should be able to say an enthusiastic YES to many of the things that bring balance and fun into your life- but to get there will require that you say “no” to other less important things. By paying attention to your true wants and what really lights you up or serves a better purpose in your life, you will naturally start saying no to the things that don’t. For example, you aren’t a “tv” person and you spend most of your days working, adventuring outside, or spending time with your family. But you have a $150 cable bill. Why? If TV is not a priority to you, downsize it. Or you have a 3,000 square foot house that you only actively use half of. You may consider simplifying your possessions and downsizing to a more proportionally sized house that saves you money on not just the house itself, but the maintenance and operation costs (repairs, heating/air, cleaning, etc). These changes don’t need to be drastic, but they can be if you want them to. Saying no to the things that don’t matter to you gives you the ability to say yes to what does, more often.

Don’t Worry About Everyone

lse Are you worried about what your family thinks? Your friends? Your neighbors? Strangers? While it is common for people to care about how they look to others, it may be worth considering that other people don’t pay your bills. And they are completely separate humans from you and don’t share your priorities, interests, likes, and dislikes. You are not the same people, so why keep trying to prove you are the same or better than they are with your possessions? You also have no idea what their private lives look like. The same person that is driving a fancy BMW could be struggling to catch up with late mortgage payments. Other people's problems may not be tattooed on their foreheads- just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean they are in a healthy financial position. Do you want to live someone else's life or your own? Live according to your needs and leave the comparisons at the door. Not only will this improve your finances, but it will improve your overall outlook on life.