Greetings Felines and Hoomans of LeoFinance and Greater Hivelandia!

Trying to *"expand my horizons"* a bit by exploring different kinds of content... and since we cats *sleep* a lot, we also have a lot of time to *think about stuff!* And if we can have a **@scaredycatguide** on investing, why not a *different* cat on money and business?

![CC0032Attentive.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmadoUcYWuHd2RKT3V4bLwwCwvM7Vj93ZZpDBZJNH4cuxh/CC0032-Attentive.jpg)

## *Striving for More!*

Whether we're out in the world, striving to advance ourselves at work; trying to build something with our own businesses or projects; or even here in the cryptosphere, trying to maximize our investment returns or blogging rewards... bottom line is that we're striving for *more;* for *better.*

And if we play our cards right and develop some wise strategies, there's a good chance we *will* end up with more income; more money available to invest.

## *But Why Aren't I Getting Richer?*

There's a tricky — and often disregarded/overlooked — aspect to increasing your income: As more money becomes available to us, we also find ourselves *"mysteriously"* facing the issue of there being more things we have to *spend* money on. 

And don't misunderstand, here! I'm *not* suggesting people who start making more income suddenly start throwing non-stop wild parties and traveling to Bora-Bora every other week... it's far more of a *creeping* thing than that!

We have long *"meant to"* pay off our credit cards. And we've *"been meaning to"* do some major repairs on our car. And then there's that roof repair. And it would really be nice to actually have a couple of pairs of new running shoes. 

![CC0035Attentive.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmbmKPwcCfLQ128ufg6Fno2Q1tH1pENx6EiYENkpUfMaBo/CC0035-Attentive.jpg)

## *Catching Up, In Order To Get Ahead...*

If your increased earnings come at a point in your life where you've *"barely been making it"* for a long time, there's often a lot of catching up to be done.

And when the *"now we can actually AFFORD that"* mindset takes root, investing often ends up being the *last* thing you do. It gets *put off;* we rationalize that we can *"start investing when all this other small stuff is out of the way."* 

Problem is, if you've been living on *"the razor's edge"* for a long time, there's a *LOT* of that small stuff...

## *Then Comes "Lifestyle Inflation!"*

What I am calling *"Lifestyle Inflation"* can actually take many forms.

The overstated *caricature* we often toss around here is the image of making money on a lucky crypto gamble and buying a Lambo. But the reality in most people's lives is *far* subtler, and is something that comes creeping in through the cracks.

During that *"catching up"* phase I just mentioned, we get accustomed — if not slightly *addicted* — to being more *comfortable* in our lives. 

In an *applied* sense, we might go from *"making $2,500 and month and SPENDING $2,500 a month"* and barely getting by to *"making $4,000 a month and SPENDING $4,000 a month."*

See the problem? We're *still* no better off investing than we were before. And *VERY few* people have the resolve and determination to stick to a *"minimalist"* lifestyle in order to build an investment portfolio.

![CC0008HelpingStones.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmSYJA57uTgZPBYnKRSYgmsZRzkV2HMw8rCNhz45qkwADF/CC0008-HelpingStones.jpg)

## *Pay Yourself First!*

One of the better pieces of investing wisdom I know is the old truism *"pay yourself first!"*

Ultimately, it's a statement about *setting priorities.* If your objective is to build that investment portfolio, then you have to *make it a priority* in your life... otherwise you can end up on the receiving and of the reality that ***strictly speaking, someone who makes $30,000 a year and spends $25,000 is actually better off than someone who makes $300,000 a year and SPENDS $300,000 a year.***

Of course, that depends somewhat on how we define *"better off."* I'm sure lots of people would argue in favor of their higher and better lifestyle...

***BUT*** that isn't helping build that investment portfolio we started out talking about, *and* now that you have all those new obligations to pay for... you need a *backup cushion* more than ever before!

So when you enjoy your crypto success, be mindful that you don't *give it right back* in the form of  Lifestyle Inflation!

Thanks for reading!

# =^..^=
***080/392 20210608***

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