Rs 10 LPA to Rs 20 LPA, but still broke? CA warns about a lifestyle creep quietly draining your money

A higher salary is supposed to bring relief, stability, and a sense of progress. Yet for many professionals, a jump from Rs 10 LPA to Rs 20 LPA still feels strangely unsatisfying. The bank balance barely changes, expenses keep rising, and the feeling of being financially stuck doesn’t go away. This quiet frustration, often dismissed as poor money management, is actually part of a deeper pattern that slowly reshapes how people spend as their income grows.

CA Nitin Kaushik recently took to X to explain this hidden financial pattern known as lifestyle creep. He wrote that the reason many professionals feel broke even after their salary doubles is that their expenses rise just as quickly as their income. According to him, when someone moves from Rs 10 LPA to Rs 20 LPA, they rarely continue living with the same financial habits. The first instinct is often to upgrade lifestyle choices almost immediately.

He explained that this usually means shifting to a more expensive apartment, buying a better car, eating out more often, and subscribing to premium services that were previously avoided. As a result, the additional income gets absorbed almost instantly.

Financial progress, but only on paper

Kaushik pointed out that what feels like financial progress on paper often disappears in real-life spending patterns. He noted that for many urban professionals, salary growth does not translate into savings because the new income is quietly matched by new expenses.

In his post, he highlighted data suggesting that for every 10 per cent increase in income, discretionary spending among urban Indians tends to rise by nearly 12 per cent. This means expenses can actually grow faster than earnings, creating a situation where financial pressure remains even at higher income levels.

He described this as a cycle where people feel richer for a brief moment after a raise, but quickly return to the same financial stress once new habits take over. “You feel broke because you’ve outsourced your happiness to premium subscriptions, dining out, and higher rent before the money even hits your investment account,” he wrote.

Higher spendings

Kaushik also warned that lifestyle upgrades often happen automatically, without conscious financial planning. The first raise brings excitement, but it is quickly followed by commitments that lock in higher monthly spending. Over time, these fixed expenses leave little room for savings or investment, even at significantly higher salaries.

He stressed that the problem is not income level, but how that income is allocated. Instead of allowing lifestyle upgrades to consume the entire raise, he suggested that professionals should treat every increment as an opportunity to build long-term wealth. According to him, salary hikes should be directed toward investments first, rather than lifestyle upgrades that provide only short-term satisfaction.


Kaushik summed up his message by encouraging people to shift their mindset. A higher salary, he suggested, should be viewed as a tool for strengthening one’s financial portfolio, not simply a reason to increase spending.
The core idea behind his warning is simple but powerful: earning more does not automatically lead to wealth if spending rises at the same pace. In many cases, the real financial battle is not about how much people earn, but how quickly their lifestyle adjusts to match it.