 TITLE: What Is Lifestyle Creep and How Can You Prevent It? CONTENT: What COVID-19 Can Teach Us About Lifestyle Creep\n------------------------------------------------\nRecently, we all had an immersive lesson in beating back lifestyle creep. As COVID-19 raged, millions of people lost their jobs. We were forced to stay in our homes and out of restaurants, concert venues, shopping malls and airplanes. We saved more: According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, American households had $2.29 trillion in savings in May of 2021, nearly a 66% increase from the $1.38 trillion in savings Americans had as of February 2020, before the pandemic began. Experian data also shows a reduction in average credit balances as well as record high credit scores during the pandemic. As our ability to spend indiscriminately waned, our ability to save money and build our credit improved.\nIt was a hard lesson that no one wants to go back and learn again. But if we can move forward with the knowledge that very little spending is indispensable, that money in the bank is as good as—well, money in the bank, and that we have flexibility and choice as we get back to normal, then maybe we can show some real progress. In the end, it's our lives, not our lifestyles, that have value. END