Rapper Lil Yachty says he blew his first $1.3M paycheck ‘in a week’ while living with mom — including $1M in diamond implants, $100K in veneers. Here’s how long it took to earn it back

Another victim of lifestyle creep

At the time, cash was coming in at such a rampant pace that Lil Yachty says he didn’t even need to check his bank account or manage his finances for several years. And while that financial freedom must have been nice, Yachty’s story highlights how high-income earners can fall prey to a situation known as lifestyle creep.

Lifestyle creep occurs when your expenses grow at the same pace, or even faster, than your earnings. Without frequent monitoring or a planned budget, some high-income earners can struggle to outearn their spending habits.

This could explain why 48% of U.S. consumers who earn more than $100,000 a year said they were living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to PYMNTS, and why 36% of consumers earning more than $200,000 a year said the same thing.

In other words, you can’t outearn bad spending habits. One way to improve your spending habits, regardless of how much you earn, is to monitor your financial health and pay yourself first.

Invest in real estate without the headache of being a landlord

Imagine owning a portfolio of thousands of well-managed single family rentals or a collection of cutting-edge industrial warehouses. You can now gain access to a $1B portfolio of income-producing real estate assets designed to deliver long-term growth from the comforts of your couch.

The best part? You don’t have to be a millionaire and can start investing in minutes.

Learn More

Measure and plan accordingly

You can’t control what you don’t measure. And if you’re unaware of the state of your assets, liabilities, taxes, income or credit score, planning your financial future could be an uphill battle.

Like Lil Yachty back when he was young, many Americans seem to be neglecting their financial information. According to a 2023 survey from Empower, 42% of Americans admitted they didn’t know their own net worth, while 62% said they didn’t know their spouse's net worth.

Another survey from BadCredit.org found that 27% of consumers do not check their credit score at least once a year.

The first step to better money management is to pay close attention to the status of your bank and savings accounts. You may even want to set up automatic mobile alerts for your bank accounts so that you can monitor their status closely. The next step is to create a realistic budget that prioritizes saving, investing and essential spending before luxuries.

By setting aside a portion of your paycheck — say 10% for long-term investments and 50% for essential needs — you can pay yourself first before you go on that vacation or shopping spree. These guardrails should help you live within your means even as your career progresses and your paychecks increase.