High earner has household income of $850k, worries about 'lifestyle creep' after spending $3k on business class flights for annual vacation: 'This is setting a precedent and that's what I'm worried about'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Sep 14, 2024 4:00 PM EDT

Many rich people keep hold of their dollars by watching their cents. Stinginess can often be found among the ranks of the 1%, no matter how illogical it may seem to all of us poverty-stricken commoners. While budgeting is an essential tool no matter what your income bracket is, there can be points where it goes too far. Sometimes the benefits outweigh the costs.

This is something that became a topic of conversation when one high-earning individual turned to the internet for advice on an expense he recently paid for. He and his wife chose to fly business class instead of economy for the yearly long-haul vacation that they take, and he was worried that this would encourage him to spend more than they wanted to in the future. This was despite the fact the flights cost a little over $3k and their household income was $850k. People had their theories about this anxiety.

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    via Ondrej Bocek

    Photo does not represent real subject in the story

  • 02
    gon >> @chinesegon Follow guy spends 3.4k on flight tickets. 850k HHTC. worried about lifestyle creep. we're so cooked
    via chinesegon
  • 03
    100 Personal Finance 1h Unfollow Meta hash_brown Should I be worried about lifestyle creep? Spouse and I go to India every year during the end of year holidays. This year economy fights for our preferred dates are ~$2k round trip per traveler. We found a great deal for ~$3.4k business class and we booked it quickly before the deal went away. Difference would be flying ~45h (to and fro) flying economy vs business. This is our first time flying business on our own money when we are not celebrating
    via chinesegon
  • 04
    Mogomra (e/acc) * @MightyMogomra Replying to @chinesegon Follow He's gonna be working until he dies of stress at age 62 if he doesn't get his financial situation under control
    via MightyMogomra
  • 05
    Minh Nhat Nguyen ở @menhguin - 2d Replying to @chinesegon this feels like a not-subtle flex
    via menhguin
  • 06
    scoot @scootykins 2d Replying to @chinesegon if i made that for one year i would never post online again
    via scootykins
  • 07
    Vik Pansare @pansareV. 2d Replying to @chinesegon Nah what he's really concerned about is the 850k tc isn't going to last
    via pansareV
  • 08
    COLLER Drew @weis_drew. 2d Replying to @chinesegon Asking friends to do things that cost $20 Friend that makes 60K: sure sounds fun! Friend that makes 250K: $20?!? Idk man trying to spend less money 8
    via weis_drew
  • 09
    Jordan Thibodeau @JWthib 2d Replying to @chinesegon He probably won't be married for long if he nickels and dimes on that. I love how you got folks making more in a year than most Americans make in 10 and that person acts if they are one bad purchase away from going into poverty.
    via JWthib
  • 10
    Ludwig von Rand @ludvonrand ⚫ 2d Replying to @chinesegon I buy airline tickets for $3k on a $170k TC. Pretty sure he's OK..
    via ludvonrand
  • 11
    OLZHAS *@ooolzhas • 2d Replying to @chinesegon He should bet it all on red and never worry about that ever again
    via ooolzhas
  • 12
    Herman van den Mee... @hvdm1987 Follow Replying to @chinesegon I want to ask who else calls on people claiming to need help from rando's on the internet, while making 850k as a wage TC 851k ?
    via hvdm1987
  • 13
    ツ John @JohnWritesCode_ •2d Replying to @chinesegon that's like the equivalent of me ordering uber eats on a random tuesday
    via JohnWritesCode_
  • 14
    Funny Fictionist @SerialVapist_ . 1d Replying to @chinesegon Life is a lot better when you focus on boosting revenue than cutting costs.
    via SerialVapist_
  • 15
    ibro. @oG_seNseii • 2d Replying to @chinesegon Economy flight ticket cost me that recently
    via oG_seNseii
  • 16
    dpc @dpc_pw Follow People are having a laugh in the comments, but I can relate. I was raised in a relatively poor country. I didn't lack any essentials, and didn't think about myself as poor, but it was a very frugal life. Even my first full time, SWE, adult job paid ~$250/mo, probably 600 today's USD (inflation adjusted). I've been living in high CoL area for more than a decade and I need to consciously, rationally correct my anxious intuition when spending bigger sums to this day, and I doubt
    via dpc_pw
  • 17
    bread and circuses @phortuenti . 2d Replying to @chinesegon Dude knows he's got a peak fake email job.
    via phortuenti
  • 18
    Andy McPherson @McPhersonsTake. 2d Replying to @chinesegon The entire point of these forums are for people to brag about how rich they are and pretend to be clueless about finances so they can have strangers tell them that they are rich
    via McPhersonsTake
  • 19
    jimbovelure @jimbovelure 2d Replying to @chinesegon • Honestly.. as a financial planner working with a lot of valley tech guys.. this looks benign but they have hhtc 850 with a 3 million mortgage. Lose one or both jobs in a tech downturn and you're out of that house in 6 months.
    via jimbovelure

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