Another blog asks: Does Income Change Who You Are as a Spender? or your Tastes?
I would think in most cases more income should change your spending habits. Unless your tastes are so far below your income that additional income makes no difference then it should.
I save money for retirement, emergency fund, an addition to my house… If I have get another $50,000 a year I can think of good ways to spend it (for me I would save lots of it, but I could also spend some). If now I think I can give $100 to some charity I might give $200 if I have a bunch more money. I buy Odwalla juice, which is pretty crazy expensive, but compared to my overall spending it doesn’t amount to much. But in my first few years of work life I wouldn’t have. I eat out a lot because I like that better than cooking. If I couldn’t afford it then I would eat out less.
I would also “buy” more free time. I would take advantage of the extra cash to cut back at work so I had more time to spend however I wanted. And I would buy a Droid Incredible.
I’d probably buy a solar energy system and battery backup if I had a ton of extra cash… I’d try some services to do things I would like to do but don’t have time for. I like photography and posting my photos online. But I am far behind and have a bunch I would like to do. If I had a bunch of extra cash I would pay someone to take my photos and post them how I want. I would buy a slide scanner and scan a bunch of my Dad’s old slides (or pay to have it done). If I had an fortune I would buy a place with indoor basketball court (or one that where I could build one) and fly first class or use Net Jets and travel a bunch more. Unfortunately I don’t foresee those things happening 🙁
So yeah I would definitely change my spending habits. It isn’t really changing my tastes. I have the tastes now, I just figure given my financial situation it isn’t worth the money (and some I couldn’t even get people to lend me enough money to buy) for some things. But if I had a bunch more money I would buy them.
A mistake many people make is increasing spending too much as income increases. I definitely suggest avoiding this risky behavior. It is fine to add some expenses but make sure you are adding to your retirement account, emergency fund, general savings with part of the raise. And it is risky to develop expensive tastes that you continue if you income declines (or lock into long term expenses – new car, mortgage…). So enjoy, but be careful.
Photo by John Hunter, Swiftcurrent Lake trail in the Many Glaciers area of Glacier National Park.
Related: Using Your Credit Card Properly – Trying to Keep up with the Jones – How Rich Are You?
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I am glad you liked my post!
Why not turn your hobby into cash? You seem to have some great location photos why not put them up for sale?