The point is that the unspent income has significant value.
I earn a multiple of the UK median. Above a lower multiple of the median, the primary increased value I got out of earning more was the freedom to stop thinking about what an increasing subset of things cost. I still need to think about what my housing cost, but I don't know what most groceries cost, because it doesn't matter to me.
The mental cost of detail budgeting, planning, and saving for most smaller costs, as well as the associated anxiety, is something I never want to pay again.
My actual spending thus tells a flawed story about the advantage I have over someone earning less.
The point is that the unspent income has significant value.
I earn a multiple of the UK median. Above a lower multiple of the median, the primary increased value I got out of earning more was the freedom to stop thinking about what an increasing subset of things cost. I still need to think about what my housing cost, but I don't know what most groceries cost, because it doesn't matter to me.
The mental cost of detail budgeting, planning, and saving for most smaller costs, as well as the associated anxiety, is something I never want to pay again.
My actual spending thus tells a flawed story about the advantage I have over someone earning less.