Why Americans Can’t Keep Their Paychecks

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More than half of Americans earning more than $100,000 a year say they’re living paycheck to paycheck, according to a report from PYMNTS and LendingClub. This may be a result of a sneaky behavioral phenomenon called lifestyle creep, which is when a person’s spending habits expand as their income rises. The rise in the cost of living complicates matters, as incomes have not kept up with inflation. So what’s going on? “I think people hold these benchmarks in their mind [of], if I reach this position or I get this promotion or I make it to this age, then I can live this life, or then I deserve to have these things,” said Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist who works with clients struggling with financial stress. “Then they kind of go a little crazy or go a little wild on it, and then it becomes like a trade-off, like they only can enjoy their present happiness and they’re not able to save or plan for the future.” But spending more may not be as simple as people wanting to indulge. Many Americans simply don’t have enough money to make ends meet because their incomes have not been keeping up with the rise in costs of living. “The idea that people save and they just hit a point where they feel like they deserve [to spend more]; I fully disagree with that,” said Saprina Allen, a budgeting coach who offers insights and guidance to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers on how to be more conscious about money. “When most people don’t have $1,000 in the bank, like most peopl

Published 2024-01-05 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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