Hey everyone! If you haven’t heard, the New York Federal Reserve concluded that U.S. consumers and businesses are paying 90% of Trump’s tariffs in 2025. Thanks Trump, for making everything more expensive. Fortunately, relief might be on the way. The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s “emergency” tariffs. Or maybe not… Trump hit back with a 10%, no 15% Global Tariffs. Who knows what it’ll be up to by the time you read this blog post? One thing we know for sure is that U.S. consumers will pay more and more to enrich Billionaires. We can’t control trade policy, but we can control lifestyle inflation. Lifestyle inflation is a key factor to FIRE. Most U.S. workers (64%) live paycheck to paycheck. The more they make, the more they spend. If you can keep lifestyle inflation under control, you’ll be able to save more and achieve financial independence sooner. That doesn’t mean freezing your lifestyle forever. Some upgrades are natural, even healthy. The key is intentional spending, not mindless upgrades to “keep up with the Joneses.” I retired early in 2012. I can’t believe it’s been 14 years! Let’s see how the RB40 household has handled lifestyle inflation since then. Lifestyle Inflation Housing: A+ In 2012, we lived in a 2-bedroom condo with an awesome view. It was great, but we outgrew the condo. We wanted a yard and a nicer neighborhood for RB40Jr. In 2019, we moved to our duplex. (We lived in one unit and rented the other one out.) It’s been a big win. RB40Jr can walk to school and hang out with friends in the neighborhood. We share some expenses with our tenant. Rental income covers the mortgage. Our monthly housing expense is actually lower now than in 2012. We have done really well here and kept our housing expenses under control. Most of my friends have nicer homes and they spend much more on housing. That said, change is coming. RB40Jr is a teenager, and we need more space. Next year, I’ll ask the tenant to move out, which will double our housing cost. After high school graduation, we’ll probably sell and downsize again. For now: A+. Transportation: A+ We bought a new Mazda5 right before our son was born. Fifteen years later, we are still driving it. The odometer is almost 100,000 miles, and it’s still going strong. The minivan is full of dents and dings because we park on a busy public street. But I don’t really care about cosmetics as long as it runs reliably. I would like a nicer vehicle, but I’m not in a hurry. Why buy a nicer car when it’ll get banged up on the street? We did really well in this category: A+. Groceries: B In 2012, I went grocery shopping at WinCo regularly. They are cheaper than Safeway and other local grocery stores, but it takes 20 minutes to get there. These days, I’m lazier and shop at the neighborhood Trader Joe’s and Safeway. It’s easier,