{"id":22217,"date":"2026-07-20T09:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitsacard.com\/blog?p=22217"},"modified":"2026-07-20T09:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:03:29","slug":"parkinsons-law-why-you-spend-everything-you-earn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitsacard.com\/blog\/en\/parkinsons-law-why-you-spend-everything-you-earn","title":{"rendered":"Parkinson\u2019s Law: why you spend everything you earn"},"content":{"rendered":"

You finally got a raise. You\u2019ve been asking for it for months or even years, and at least in that sense, it worked. For the first few days, the feeling is relief. You probably think that with this extra money you\u2019ll be able to save and breathe a little easier at the end of the month.<\/p>\n

But a few weeks go by and something curious happens. You don\u2019t see that money. You\u2019re not quite sure what you spent it on, but it\u2019s gone. And you\u2019re still reaching the end of the month with the same feeling of being stretched thin as before.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not bad luck. It\u2019s not that you\u2019re especially bad at managing your money. It\u2019s something that happens to almost everyone, and it\u2019s had a name for more than seventy years: Parkinson\u2019s Law.<\/p>\n

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What is Parkinson\u2019s Law?<\/h2>\n

The first time this was discussed was in 1955. Cyril Northcote Parkinson<\/span><\/a>, a British historian and writer, published a satirical essay in The Economist. In it, he described an observation that anyone who has worked in an office would instantly recognize: work has a natural tendency to expand to fill all the time available for its completion.<\/p>\n

To understand it better, if you\u2019re given a week to do something you could finish in two days, you\u2019ll end up taking the whole week. Not because you need that time, but because the available time becomes the time you use.<\/p>\n

At first glance, this doesn\u2019t seem related to personal finance, but Parkinson didn\u2019t stop there. Five years later, in his book \u201cThe Law and the Profits\u201d<\/span><\/a>, he added a second equally revealing law: expenses rise to meet all available income. In other words, no matter how much you earn, you will always find a way to spend it all.<\/p>\n

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How this works with your money<\/h2>\n

To apply these ideas to your current situation, think about your own case for a moment. When you earned \u20ac1,200 per month, you managed to spend \u20ac1,200. If your salary increased to \u20ac1,800, now you spend \u20ac1,800. If it went up again, you would probably end up spending that new amount without even noticing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that your needs have changed proportionally. What changes is your definition of what feels normal. That restaurant you used to visit once a month as a treat becomes a weekly habit. The phone that used to last three years now gets replaced every two because \u201cyou can afford it.\u201d Clothes you only bought on sale are now bought at full price. Every increase in income generates an increase in spending that absorbs it entirely.<\/p>\n

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The role of status in this mechanism<\/h2>\n

As expected, society also plays a significant role in these expenses. Part of this increase in spending does not respond to real needs. It responds to a feeling of \u201cI should live like someone who earns this much.\u201d A newer car, more expensive vacations, a different neighborhood, or better restaurants.<\/p>\n

Status-driven spending doesn\u2019t appear in your mind as a luxury. It shows up as something you \u201ccan now afford.\u201d Something you\u2019ve earned. The problem is that every new thing you \u201ccan now afford\u201d is one more thing bringing you closer to your income limit. And when the next raise comes, the process repeats.<\/p>\n

Signs it\u2019s already happening to you<\/h2>\n

If you suspect Parkinson\u2019s Law is affecting your finances, there are several signs that can confirm it:<\/p>\n