How much lifestyle inflation is reasonable?
Given all of the below, am I lifestyle inflation-ing too much? Am I reasonably feeling guilty or have my previous frugal ways set this mentality in my brain forever and i should stop being so hard on myself?
Context:
Previously always had a low wage (<$50k in today's dollars) living in HCOL areas. Went back to school, depleted my savings and graduated last year at 34 with 25k debt, no assets, no investments. Now I:
- Rent in an MCOL city, no car, dont want kids or a wedding
- $150-180k total comp depending on bonus
- $3400 monthly take home after fixed bills and RRSP
- $300 weekly spending budget (food, transport etc and all extras)
Have stressed about money my whole life and despite this huge increase, I still feel like I am way behind. I bust my budget every single month and fear that this wage is temporary because market is tough and have seen some layoffs, but my job is pretty safe.
LAST 12 MONTHS:
- 15k TFSA emergency fund
- 16k student debt paid (9k left)
- 16k in RRSP (half is employer match)
- 10k spent on travel
TOTAL NET WORTH: $22k
NEXT 12 MONTHS:
- $16k FHSA contributions (over 2 calendar years)
- $9k student debt paid off
- $15k TFSA
- $17k RRSP contributions (50% employer match)
- $500/month post tax wage increase starting july due to a promotion
TOTAL NET WORTH: $79k
So by 36, I should have 80k invested and am roughly calculating ~18k left to spend on travel and other things in the next year. Is 80k enough for my age? Is this reasonable given how quickly i got there??
Tldr: Will increase net worth from -$25 to +$80k in 2 years at 36 years old. Want to know if budget is too tight and I should stop feeling bad for going over every month, or if 80k net worth is low for my age and I should continue to be frugal for the next until i reach a reasonable amount. No job loss threat but you never know with this market.