Lifestyle Creep

As a 23-year-old software engineer, have I succumbed to lifestyle creep? If you're unsure of what lifestyle creep actually is, it's the phenomenon where discretionary consumption increases on non-essential items as the standard of living improves. With lifestyle creep, luxury goods and discretionary spending become perceived as a right to have and not a choice—as a necessity versus a want. So, the most simple, short answer I can put this is, probably yes, by somebody else's standards. Since getting my job, I've gotten not one car, but two cars. I've gotten a beautiful pet now, and I've moved out of my parents' house. There's probably a few more things that I could actually list here. Now, from the outside in, your people are probably like, damn, you bought two cars, that's very financially irresponsible. But there's another part of this story. As I've said in the past, I love a good growth mindset and constantly putting my back against the wall. I feel allows me to stay motivated and performing at my best so I can achieve these lofty goals that I have for myself. Secondly, I told myself this as a coping mechanism. The second car that I got was technically a classic, so we're hoping it doesn't lose value. But I personally firmly believe that if you want that $5 coffee, maybe you want that $25 lunch, go get it. As long as you're working hard to come up with a plan to replace that spending and support that lifestyle. Also, one piece of financial independence that a lot of people underrate is your ability to increase your earning potential. That is by far one of the biggest things you'll see in books over and over again, that if you can increase your earning potential, not only do you increase your chances of success to be financially independent, but you decrease the amount of time it takes to get there. But once again, maybe I tell myself these things to cope. Someone let me know if I'm being stupid. I am young and very dumb.