You don't have to spend more on rent just because you get a raise

True, but unfortunately we now live in a world where corporate landlords participate in a price-fixing cartel on regional basis and use income verification data to set your rent. This means, in many cases, an increase in pay means an increase in rent even if you change nothing else about your lifestyle.

Side note: price-fixing cartels are black letter illegal as fuck in the US, but we don’t seem to enforce the laws against corporate landlords