lives beyond one's means
Spends more than earned
To live beyond one's means is to spend more money than one earns, typically by relying on credit or debt to maintain a lifestyle one cannot actually afford.
The phrase implies financial recklessness or self-deception: They lived beyond their means for years before the bills caught up with them.
The opposite is to live within one's means.
- overspendingExceeding one's budget
- payday loansShort-term high-interest borrowing
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
- predatory lendingExploitative loan terms
- robbing Peter to pay PaulSolving problems by creating others
house poor · lifestyle creep · bankruptcy · instant gratification · self-esteem issues · financial ruin · status anxiety · consumerism · impulsivity · buy now pay later · social comparison · credit card debt · income inequality · maxed out · peer pressure · retail therapy · debt · extravagance
lives beyond one's meansfrugal
Sparing with resources
thrifty · economizes · penny-pinching · tightfisted · miserly
lives beyond one's meansmodest
Lacking in pretension
austere · spartan · ascetic · self-denying · abstemious
lives, lived, living, lively, livelihood, means, meanings, meaningless