1. The force or influence that gives something its vitality or strength. 2. The universal animating energy that is in all living things that is responsible for growth and evolution. 3. The creative force that is comprised of a number of different characteristics, components and qualtiies that can be measured by the effects they produce.
glossary
Increasing your spending when your income goes up. This phenomenon makes it perpetually difficult to get out of debt, save for retirement or meet financial goals. Lifestyle inflation tends to continue each time someone gets a raise, receives a bonus or an unexpected windfall, making it the primary cause of people getting stuck in the rat-race of working harder and harder just to pay the bills (because their bills grow in line with their income).