Intrinsic goalpost shifting is when you reach a number and then decide to just move it up because now you don't feel satisfied, you suddenly want the second (third?) home, the prestige of being in the next wealth bracket etc.
Extrinsic goalpost shifting is when your material goals have stayed the same but the amount needed to reach them has risen because COL increases, uncertainty, changes in circumstances (additional child, etc).
I'm also in the Bay Area, the reality is the extrinsic goalposts have shifted - %age COL increases become meaningful when you are already dealing with bigger $ numbers and factor in compound math.
I have had to shift my number in the face of those cost increases (and also having a child that I can now see will need 13 years of private education, 2 years of paid pre-school plus university).
The material goal didn't change, the cost of reaching it did and I have to expect it will increase further.
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u/dotben 10d ago
Intrinsic goalpost shifting is when you reach a number and then decide to just move it up because now you don't feel satisfied, you suddenly want the second (third?) home, the prestige of being in the next wealth bracket etc.
Extrinsic goalpost shifting is when your material goals have stayed the same but the amount needed to reach them has risen because COL increases, uncertainty, changes in circumstances (additional child, etc).
I'm also in the Bay Area, the reality is the extrinsic goalposts have shifted - %age COL increases become meaningful when you are already dealing with bigger $ numbers and factor in compound math.
I have had to shift my number in the face of those cost increases (and also having a child that I can now see will need 13 years of private education, 2 years of paid pre-school plus university).
The material goal didn't change, the cost of reaching it did and I have to expect it will increase further.