I’ve been working for the U.S. Census Bureau for about two and a half weeks now. The job is great. The pay is almost too good to be true for a high school senior (around $300-$400 a week). My supervisor is flexible and my co-workers are all nice people. The worst part is that the office isn’t located within walking distance!
Financially, however, I’ve noticed my finances are suffering. Kind of.
I know that statement sounds like a contradiction. Here I am making more money than I ever have in my life and I have the nerve to think I’m worse off? There are some countries that don’t even have a census bureau! The nerve!
In all seriousness though, my spending has gone up. Almost every day, I stop by Tim Horton’s for an ice cappuccino. Or Wendy’s for a Frosty. It’s only a few bucks here and there, but I’m still spending more money than I was just a few weeks ago.
This, in its own small way, is called lifestyle inflation.
Lifestyle inflation is when the amount you spend rises in relation to your increase in income. You start bringing home more cash, so you start spending more cash. This is exactly what I’ve done. I even think “I have a job now. I can spend money.” when I pull into the drive-thru lane. It’s amazing how this line of thinking has allowed me to seamlessly justify my purchases. And quick too – I started my daily coffee purchase just 3 days after I began work.
So far, the amount I’m spending isn’t much. About $2-4 per day. But that’s still $10-20 per week. $80 per month could pay for a trip to an amusement park – and I like amusement parks more than I like coffee.
This kind of spending reminds of how just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. I could smoke a pack of cigarettes everyday or I could go and protest funerals of fallen soldiers . But just because I can, doesn’t mean I should. I can afford to buy coffee every day. But that doesn’t mean I should.
