Affordability: The Price of Convenience

Last week, I introduced a different way to think about affordability - separating facts, influences, and choices.

This week, let's talk about something that can happen so gradually we don't even notice it.

Lifestyle creep.

Lifestyle creep happens when our spending slowly increases as our income, circumstances, and expectations change.

But I think there's another influence contributing to it today:

Convenience.

Think about the old Staples Easy Button. That was easy.

In many ways, that's what companies are selling us today - easy and fast.

• Hungry? DoorDash.

• Need something? Amazon can have it at your door tomorrow - or sometimes today.

• Don't feel like cooking? Grab takeout.

• Want to watch something? We have multiple streaming services at our fingertips.

• Need a new phone? We can have the latest smartphone, even though it may cost more than $1,000.
  

None of these things are bad.

They save us time. They make life easier. They give us options previous generations didn't have.

But convenience usually has a price.

Twenty years ago, many of these expenses either didn't exist or weren't a normal part of our monthly spending.

Even the things that did exist looked different.

Eating out was once more likely to be an occasion. Today, restaurant meals, takeout and food delivery can easily become part of the weekly routine.

Cell phones have become almost essential to everyday life. But the type of phone we buy, how much we're willing to spend on it, and how often we replace it are still choices.

And that's where I think the affordability conversation gets interesting.

Facts, Influences & Choices

Fact: We have expenses today that previous generations simply didn't have.

Influence: Technology has made it incredibly easy to get what we want, when we want it. Convenience, advertising and our increasingly instantaneous world influence our spending more than we may realize.

Choice: We still get to decide which conveniences are worth paying for.

I'm not suggesting you cancel Netflix, delete Amazon or never order DoorDash again.

I'm suggesting we notice.

💭 Something to think about

What has quietly become a necessity in my life that I once would have considered a luxury?

And

Am I paying for convenience because I truly value it - or simply because it has become a habit?

✅ Try this for one week

• Track what you spend on convenience.

• Takeout. Delivery fees. Amazon purchases. Subscriptions. Apps. Anything you pay for because it makes something easier or faster.
  

Just become aware of it.

Because awareness gives us the opportunity to make a choice.

Until next week In Your Corner & Cheering you on- Liz 😊