Lifestyle Creep & Weaponised Incompetence: The Two Big Money Blocks Holding Kiwis Back in 2025 💰🚧
As we step into 2025, two major financial roadblocks are increasingly making it harder for Kiwis—especially young professionals and growing families—to get ahead: lifestyle creep and weaponised incompetence. These habits can quietly stifle your household income, slow down wealth-building, and add stress to yourself and your financial future. Let’s break down why these are big problems this year and, more importantly, how to overcome them.
Lifestyle Creep: Why Earning More Doesn’t Always Mean You're "Doing Well". 💸
Lifestyle creep happens when your expenses rise as your income grows. That doesn't subtract from the fact that you need sufficient income to run a household first. We are talking about "extra income left over" to put towards your future. Instead of saving or investing extra earnings, you start upgrading your life—fancier gadgets, new cars, upgrading wardrobes, premium subscriptions, and more frequent takeaways. No ceiling on desires and before you know it, your bank balance isn’t growing, despite earning more.
Why It’s a Big Issue in 2025:
Higher Living Costs: With inflation and rising interest rates, it’s easier than ever to justify spending more just to "keep up."
Social Pressure: Seeing friends upgrade their lifestyle can make you feel like you should too.
Easy Access to Credit: With buy-now-pay-later services and easy financing, it’s tempting to splurge on things you don’t actually need.
How to Tackle It:
✅ Live Below Your Means – Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean you should buy it. Prioritise needs over wants.
✅ Pay Yourself First – Before upgrading anything, increase your savings or investments. Automate transfers towards your investment portfolio and/or KiwiSaver.
✅ Delay Major Purchases – Give yourself a "cooling-off" period before making big financial decisions. Ask yourself: "Will this still be important to me in a year?"
Weaponised Incompetence: The Financial Strain in Relationships 💼⚖️
Weaponised incompetence is when one partner avoids contributing to household finances by acting like they "don’t know how to" —leaving the other to handle everything. It’s not always intentional, but over time, it leads to resentment, financial imbalance, stress, and missed opportunities. We've seen this happen with a few of our clients and it sadly ended in divorces for some.
Why It’s a Big Issue in 2025:
Dual-Income Families: Most Kiwi households in 2025 rely on BOTH partners working, but if one person isn’t engaged in financial planning, it creates long-term risks.
Uneven Mental Load: One person earning most or all the household income AND managing all the finances alone can lead to burnout and rushed decisions.
Missed Growth Opportunities: If both partners aren’t financially informed OR involved, there’s a higher chance of poor investments, lack of sufficient retirement funds, or overspending.
How to Tackle It:
✅ Have Regular "Money Dates" – Set aside time each month to go over budgets, savings, and investments together. Make it a team effort. Create a safe space to call each other out, if need be.
✅ Split Financial Tasks – Even if one person is more financially savvy, both should be involved. In the case, where one person works to provide for the family, the non-earning partner can take on the lead role in managing household finances.
✅ Educate Together – Attend financial workshops, read personal finance books, or work with a financial adviser together so both partners feel confident. There is no shame in not knowing things - the problem is more to do with if one doesn't want to make the effort at all and hides behind weaponised incompetence, living in their comfort zone.
Why Tackling These Blocks Matters for Your Financial Future 🚀
In 2025, getting ahead financially will require intentional money moves. It’s not just about earning more—it’s about making more, keeping more of what you earn and making smarter financial decisions as a team.
By overcoming lifestyle creep, you can ensure your hard-earned income actually builds wealth for the future, rather than just maintaining appearances. By addressing weaponised incompetence, you and your partner can create a strong, shared financial foundation for long-term success, and build a safer, stronger relationship in the process too.
Small changes today = big financial wins tomorrow. Let’s make 2025 the year of financial empowerment! 💪
