Excellent breakdown of how to sidestep lifestyle inflation. The auto-escalation bit is slick becauseit removes willpower from the equation entirely. I tried bumping my 401k after a promotion last year and honestly barely noticed the difference in takehome, but seeing those contributions stack up quarterly felt way better than whatever extra coffees I wouldve bought. One thing worth considering tho is that this works best when paired with periodic reblancing since those contributions might shift the risk profile over time.
Excellent breakdown of how to sidestep lifestyle inflation. The auto-escalation bit is slick becauseit removes willpower from the equation entirely. I tried bumping my 401k after a promotion last year and honestly barely noticed the difference in takehome, but seeing those contributions stack up quarterly felt way better than whatever extra coffees I wouldve bought. One thing worth considering tho is that this works best when paired with periodic reblancing since those contributions might shift the risk profile over time.
Thanks for sharing! When I've done used this strategy, I've had a very similar experience. And great point about rebalancing.