How To Avoid Keeping Up With The Joneses | Money Saving Tips
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Have you ever found yourself spending money from pressure to keep up with the Joneses?
We’ve been there.
We can all fall victim to the pressures of keeping up appearances.
Pressure leads us to buy more than we would’ve normally done ourselves all in an effort to please others.
Today’s we’re giving you five things to consider that will enable you to resist the pressure
These will also empower you to take control of your money and improve your financial situation.
Table of Contents
Keeping Up With The Joneses – Conspicuous Consumption
Conspicuous consumption refers to spending money on acquiring stuff to publicly (conspicuously) display your economic power.
The point of showing off is to attain or maintain that you belong to a particular social class.
In other words, it’s flexing your money to show off through what you drive, wear, eat and where you live.
Although there’s nothing wrong with wanting more and aiming high, there’s a big problem with this.
Publicly displaying your economic power.
One of the reasons we can think of that drive this ambition is keeping up with the Joneses.
They have a new car so should we.
She lives in a big house, so should I.
They travel abroad every 3 months, so should we.
And this leads to the never-ending cycle of spending money trying to keep up appearances.
Money And Peer Pressure
Sometimes the problem is not from your own desire to try and keep up appearances.
It’s when others tell you what you should do with your money.
Your friends could be pressuring you to get rid of your 10-year-old car and “upgrade” to a newer one.
Your family could be saying: “it’s time to get a bigger house with a bigger garden for the children.”
They may not start booking house viewing and mortgage applications for you but their words affect you.
All this leads you to spend more money than you have.
Whether it’s the desire to keep up appearances or the pressure from others, let’s get into how to resist these.
How To Avoid Spending Money From Peer Pressure
It’s very possible to resist the temptation to spend money from peer pressure.
We’ve learnt the hard way that it’s better to resist and buy than to buy and regret.
Here are the 5 Money tips we use to resist the pressure to spend money.
Assess Your Affordability
If you’re being pressured into buying a new pair of shoes then assess whether it fits your budget for that month.
Take a moment to analyse your budget and work out the impact the purchase will have on your money for this month.
However, something like a car is more than just the purchase cost.
There are running costs to also consider.
There are two main areas to look at, with the second being the most important one.
First, can you afford the purchase cost today?
Similar to the shoes, assess your budget.
Second, can you afford the cost of ownership?
Think about maintenance costs, upkeep costs, and other associated fees and expenses.
Then work out the impact that would have on your budget in the long run.
Consider Your Life & Financial Goals
Assessing whether you can afford the purchase cost is important.
But a far greater step to take is to assess the financial cost against your goals.
Life goals direct your money goals.
Money goals direct your money habits and decisions.
However, without life goals, money goals can feel empty.
Without money goals, your money habits can easily be influenced by others.
When you’re feeling the pressure to keep up with others, think of your goals.
Aim to have purpose and strive to achieve your goals, rather than keeping appearances.
What’s Your Motivation To Spend Money?
When your goals and dreams aren’t your motivation, you’re easily swayed by others.
Be honest with yourself about why you want to make the purchase.
When peer pressure is involved chances are you’re spending money to please others.
Or to shut them up too so they stop nagging you!
If this is the case, the ideal decision would be to not spend your money on it.
However, if you do, at least you were honest to yourself about why you’re doing it.
What Value Does It Bring To Your Life?
Think about whether what you’re buying will be valuable to you.
Honestly consider whether you’ll put the item to use and really gain its benefits.
We’ve bought a number of items that are still in mint condition.
Clothes we’ve worn once and gadgets we hardly get the use from.
The point is to figure out whether you’ll get the value from the item you’re buying.
The Truth About Joy & Happiness
Buying stuff can give us a sense of excitement and achievement, but does it bring real joy?
Materialistic possessions can give us security, comfort, and a better lifestyle.
But they don’t lead to true happiness.
There is a misconception that you’ll be happier if you have what you see others have.
This is further from the truth.
Joy and happiness are led by an internal compass.
It’s also found in being grateful for what you have than in desiring what you don’t have.
We acknowledge that things can make your life more comfortable or even give a sense of achievement.
But understand that materialistic stuff doesn’t equate to internal happiness and joy.
Take Action
Aim to take a breath before you make any purchases to go through the above questions.
Stop yourself when you feel like you’re trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Check out our Ultimate Money Plan to get in control of your money and smash your financial goals.
Share this post with others so they can also learn about money too.
Let us know how you’re getting along by getting in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you.
Knowledge is powerless without action.
So take action, and take care.
Thando & Lindie