I came across this WSJ article the other day. It featured a 34-year-old higher education worker named Rachel Yoke, who worked 2 jobs during the pandemic to make ends meet.

Later, she got a better, higher-paying job and she started to feel a bit more optimistic. Maybe she could now enjoy life better.

Then inflation happened. And everything from groceries, to gas, to clothing, and so forth suddenly became more expensive. Some people did the math and found that Americans are likely paying an extra $276 every month.

“I worked so hard to get this new job and make this shift. Why am I not making as much progress as I thought?” Yoke told WSJ in an interview.

I can understand Yoke’s frustration. Many of us try to live below our means and avoid big lifestyle changes. That’s so we can save more, increase our financial freedom, and achieve our goals.

But in today’s economy, it’s harder to do those things. To make matters worse, leisure expenses, like traveling or dining out, have also increased.

How do you enjoy life when everything is suddenly more expensive? You don’t want to throw everything in the wind. But having a life devoid of pleasure is also counterintuitive.

So in this article, I’ll share 3 simple tips you can do instead.