🔺 r/personalfinanceusecretsandplay·17 days ago
Tell me to stay boring and responsible, and avoid lifestyle creep
I know I am so privileged to even be asking this. Household income is about to bump from 100k to 180k this fall. We lives in a MCOL city. We have one toddler and would like another child. We own a very modest (and very adorable) home. Husband went through 6 months of unemployment in 2025 before finding new job in 2026. We really tightened our belts and stuck to a budget for that and since. He has been very valuable to this small company and they are increasing his compensation. I am so grateful and can scarcely believe it! We replaced our depleted emergency fund and have been AGGRESSIVELY paying down a mountain of student loans (originally totaling $200k) through all of this. Here are some of the things we have gone without: * home projects * eating out * brand name foods and cleaning products * all birthday/anniversary/Christmas gifts * date nights and the childcare required for them * all beauty appointments * new clothes (everyone has thrifted capsule wardrobes now) * gym memberships * amazon prime, Costco and Walmart memberships * streaming services * professional haircuts * vacations * zoo/aquarium/kid-entertainment memberships, etc. Even just listing them makes me both proud…