Creep is the default, saving is the effort. Spending expands to fill whatever lands in the account. The raise shows up, the standard of living rises to meet it, and nothing is left over. You have to design against it, because doing nothing means losing it.

Bank half of every raise before it touches the baseline. Half still upgrades your life. The other half routes straight to the SIP the day the increment hits, not later. Later is where raises go to disappear.

The "I deserve it" splurge is the same bug in single shot. One Rs 60000 reward is a Rs 4.84L line in twenty years. Reward yourself in a slice of the raise, never the whole thing.