Regardless of how much money you earn, if you don’t build this one habit, you’ll never accumulate lasting wealth. That habit? Spending less than you earn.

A recent article on actor Jason Isaacs—best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films and for his recent role in The White Lotus—highlights this point. Despite a decades-long career in film and television and paychecks that reached $40,000 per episode on premium shows, Isaacs admitted in an interview that he has spent nearly everything he’s earned.

“People will think I have huge stockpiles of money,” he told Vulture. “But sadly, what I’ve done rather immaturely is expand my outgoings to match my incomings and pretty much spent everything I’ve earned over the years.”

That’s a remarkably honest statement—and a timely reminder of a key financial truth: it doesn’t matter how much you make if you spend it all.

From Wealthy to Broke: A Familiar Pattern

Isaacs isn’t the only one. From Al Pacino, who revealed in his 2024 memoir that he burned through a $50 million fortune, to countless athletes and musicians—Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, and many more—the stories share a common thread.

The problem isn’t income. It’s behavior.

The Wealth-Killer Called Lifestyle Creep

What takes down high earners over time is something known as lifestyle creep—the slow but steady expansion of spending as income rises. You get a raise, and suddenly you “need” a better car, a bigger house, or another streaming subscription. Before long, your old budget looks quaint, and your expenses have expanded to fill every inch of your new income—or more.

There’s a kind of financial gravity to lifestyle creep. Each new comfort becomes the new normal. And the higher your baseline rises, the harder it is to dial back when circumstances change—as they inevitably do.

People who reach financial independence—the kind where your portfolio starts paying you—don’t always earn more than others. But they almost always have one thing in common: they live below their means. Consistently. Intentionally.

Avoiding the Trap: Two Simple Strategies

This isn’t about deprivation—it’s about discipline. You can absolutely enjoy your money, but that enjoyment should come from structure, not impulse.

Two ways to keep lifestyle creep in check:

1. Make new income invisible.

If you get a raise, don’t let the new money just sit in your checking account. Redirect it immediately to a retirement plan, dividend-paying investments, or even a savings account with withdrawal friction. If you don’t see it, you won’t spend it.

2. Treat windfalls as one-time events.

Whether it’s a bonus, a stock award, or an unusually lucrative year, don’t build a recurring lifestyle around it. Otherwise, the temporary boost becomes a permanent liability.

A Lesson from the Spotlight

Isaacs admitted he passed on financially secure roles over the years. Looking back, he regrets it.

“Now that I’m toward the autumn of my career,” he said, “I think maybe I’m an idiot and I should have done some of those things and just banked it, because other people do.”

That reflection isn’t just useful for actors. It’s useful for anyone thinking about their financial future.

You don’t just want you to earn more—you want your income to work for you, to grow, and to build long-term freedom.

That starts by building a margin—a gap between what comes in and what goes out. Use that gap to invest in things that create cash flow, security, and opportunity.

Always spend less than you earn. Use the rest to build something lasting.

Your future self will thank you.