Financial Radon Test (kit not included)

Financial Radon Test (kit not included)

Part 5 in our series on HENRYs

If we were sitting at the kitchen table right now, coffee poured, maybe a dog wandering in and out, you might tell me something like this: “Steve, we’re doing everything right. Income is good. We’re saving. But it still feels like we’re not getting ahead the way we should.” That’s when I usually start talking about something most people never think about.

Not the market. Not taxes. Not even spending in the obvious sense….I talk about radon. Stay with me for a minute.

Let me tell you a quick story about “Ben and Lynn.” Now, before we go any further, they’re not real clients. They’re a composite. A pretty typical example of the kinds of conversations I have with high earners all the time.

Mid-career professionals
Household income around $350,000
Two kids, busy schedules, good life
They’ve “leveled up” steadily over the last decade

Ben earns about $250,000.
Lynn earns about $100,000.

From the outside? They’re crushing it. But here’s what wasn’t obvious, even to them: Their lifestyle had quietly calibrated itself to their income(s).

Not intentionally.
Not recklessly.
Just… slowly.

Lifestyle Creep is Financial Radon. You don’t smell radon. You don’t see it, but over time, it does real damage. Lifestyle creep works the exact same way. It’s not the big, obvious decisions that usually get high earners in trouble.

It’s the slightly nicer house, the extra subscription (or five), or the second vacation that felt “deserved.” It’s the steady normalization of a higher baseline.

None of those things are bad on their own. But together? They quietly reset the cost of your life. For imaginary Ben and Lynn, that cost became anchored to the higher income in the household.

Where It Gets Dangerous

Risk #1: It Quietly Steals Future Wealth

Here’s what most people don’t see.

Lifestyle creep doesn’t just increase spending today; it quietly shrinks what’s possible later. Households earning $200K+ are typically spending around $150K–$170K per year.
In other words, even high earners are still using most of what they make—just at a higher level. Because it happens gradually, it all feels reasonable.

Let’s keep it simple. An extra $2,000/month is $24,000/year.

Feels manageable. But invested over time?

That’s not $24,000.
That’s potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of future wealth. Even though higher earners typically save around 15–25% of income, small shifts in spending can have a big impact over time. [rwmwealth.com] This isn’t about overspending. It’s about this shift: Dollars quietly move from “future flexibility” to “permanent lifestyle. Once that happens, it’s very hard to reverse. The truth is that while you may still get to your goal, that creep can be the difference between work optional and work required later in life.

Risk #2: It Creates an Income Gap Problem

Here’s the part most HENRYs don’t think about. What happens if Ben’s income… stops? Not permanently. Not catastrophically. Even just temporarily.

In this example:
Their lifestyle required roughly $18,000/month
Lynn’s income alone covered about $6,500/month after tax

That gap is over $10,000/month, which was invisible when everything was going well, was still very real. This is where lifestyle creep stops being annoying…and starts becoming risk. 

Simplify, Sytemize, Maintain and Optimize

Ask basic questions about what you want to make a permanant or important expense in your life. Find your baseline. Work with an advisor to utilize tools to automate and preserve your wealth building processes. Don't tinker but do review once a year. Explore new financial tools and strategies (alongside your planner/advisor).

If this feels familiar or interesting, let’s sit down and walk through your own “radon test.”