How much money do you need to feel rich? For some, it’s $520,000 a year.

To feel rich, on average, Americans said they would need to earn about $520,000. More than 1 in 5 polled — 23 percent — put the figure at $1 million.

Even as they tried to put a number on their economic happy place, many Americans weren’t optimistic about their ability to achieve financial security: Just 37 percent believe they will ever reach a salary to feel comfortable, according to the Bankrate findings.

This financial discontent is not unreasonable. Although inflation has been waning, many families are struggling to cover higher food prices. And housing continues to be the largest driver in the monthly inflation increase.

The struggle is overwhelming for a lot of Americans.

However, I wonder about those who feel half a million or more is the ticket they need to punch for financial peace. More money, fewer problems, right?

After reviewing the Bankrate survey, I looked at research by behavioral scientists and an array of personal finance experts. More often than not, they find, that feeling of financial insecurity is the result of lifestyle inflation.

The more some folks make, the larger they live. Wants turn into needs. Luxuries become necessities.

I’m concerned about those who are earning a decent, if not great, salary who feel success is eluding them.

In the “Big Leap,” psychologist Gay Hendricks calls it the “upper-limit problem.”

“Millions of people are stuck on the verge of reaching their goals, can’t seem to scale the wall, and are struggling under a glass ceiling that is completely within their control, waiting to be removed,” Hendricks wrote.

People sabotage their wealth-building by overspending even as they earn six- or seven-figure salaries. We see this played out with professional athletes, many of whom are broke after having made millions during their careers, and even lottery winners.

These are the folks who do not skimp on vacations, ensuring the next one is more lavish than the last. Or they splurge on what they drive: A four-figure car payment is simply the price you pay. The share of borrowers with new-car loan payments of $1,000 or more a month was 17.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024, just below a record 17.9 at the end of 2023, according to Edmunds.

“Abundance, it turns out, is the enemy of appreciation,” the authors of “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending” write.

To avoid a creep in your living standards, you have to fight the power of now. This is especially true when it comes to paying with plastic.

Here’s an experiment I’ve tried many times after reading “Happy Money.” I have asked people to estimate their credit card expenses for the last six months without looking at their monthly statements.

An overwhelming majority of the cardholders grossly underestimated their spending on credit. Many couldn’t recall what they had charged for the previous month.

I have worked with people whose monthly minimum payments on multiple credit cards and consolidation loans rival those of their rent or mortgage.

In my years in personal finance, including directing a large financial literacy program at my church, I have worked with people who barely make it paycheck to paycheck despite living as frugally as they can. Theirs is not a matter of overspending on frivolity. They don’t make enough money to cover the necessities of life. In places like the Washington metro area, the high cost of living can cripple a lot of families.

These folks have already cut cable. They don’t eat out. They don’t use shopping as a form of entertainment. Their kids aren’t attending pricey colleges. Health-care and medication expenses are overwhelming. Duct tape and prayers hold their cars together.

I have also counseled many people who have mismanaged their earnings. They blame inflation or a stressed economy. I see the truth.

Shopping is their therapy. (It would be cheaper and better for your psyche, bank account and net worth to pay for a therapist.)

They eat out — a lot. They have made the choice to send their children to colleges they can’t afford, relying on student loans that will take decades to pay off. They couldn’t fathom sending their children to community college first to reduce costs.

Their consumer consumption is so out of control that even a high six-figure salary doesn’t help. They are living paycheck to paycheck.

I say all this not to judge, but as a person who volunteers a great deal of time combing through the checking account statements and credit card bills of people clearly living above their significant means.

I come not with condemnation but with an appeal.

If you’re feeling you aren’t earning enough to feel financially secure, do a reality check.

Do you have an income problem, or do you suffer from lifestyle inflation?

The truth is you won’t ever think you have enough money if you don’t acknowledge actual abundance.

If you want more personal finance advice that’s timeless, order your copy of Michelle Singletary’s Money Milestones.