Williams earned $115,000 as a senior data analyst before quitting her job in 2022 to run her new social channel full-time. At the end of the year, she paid herself about $150,000.
Her business boomed and by 2023 she increased her salary to $200,000. However, after hearing that some brand partners were cutting their budgets and in an effort to hire more staff, Williams decided to lower her salary back to $125,000 per year by mid-2023.
Hannah Williams from Salary Transparent Street.
Photo credit: Brandon Showers Photography
It's been a challenge to withstand lifestyle inflation with these salary adjustments, Williams says, even more so since she spends so much time on social media and gets advertisements every moment. “It’s all the time; it’s constant,” she says. “It’s really difficult.”
But the TikTok star says she has two main strategies for keeping the lifestyle creep at bay.
Whenever Williams is tempted to buy something that is clearly a want and not a need, she waits 24 hours before making a purchasing decision.
It's a crucial step when she's working or scrolling Instagram and comes across an ad for something tempting, like a current sweater for $60.
“Almost every time I told myself to wait the next day, I completely forgot [it]“My life is no different without the sweater, but in that moment the desire for it can convince you that you need it when you don’t.”
If she's still considering an item after her 24-hour wait, Williams says she'll only buy it if she can think of three specific situations in which she'll use or wear it. The exercise helps her “validate the purchase and ensure it is special and meaningful to her” rather than “a creeping lifestyle influence.”
Then there are the larger purchases that stick in her mind, “because sometimes, you know, I get out of my head and think I can afford a Prada bag.”
In situations like this, Williams says she breaks down the cost of a large purchase based on how many hours she would have to work to afford it. “If it matters, if I have to work a full week to validate the purchase, it gives you a new perspective from which to look at the purchase,” she says.
“When I think about how much I work and compare it to the result I got from receiving the bag, sometimes the results don't match,” she adds. “So finding a way to compare costs and give you a frame of reference for how much something actually costs relative to your budget and how much work you're doing can give you a look at reality and down to earth to return.”
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