So your neighbor just pulled up in a brand new Prado, and your co-worker just announced that she’s taking a week’s trip to Zanzibar.
Oh, and did we mention that your best friend just moved from Kayole to Runda?
What bugs you the most is that you’re pretty sure that these people don’t make a lot more money that you do!
So what the heck is going on?
How are they able to spend that kind of money?
Maybe they’re up to their ears in debt, or they’re trust fund babies, or they’ll never be able to retire.
Or maybe they’ve figured out the secret to money, which is:
You can have anything you want. You just can’t have everything.
So maybe that new car, that expensive house, or that trip to paradise are the end results of decisions secretly brewing under the surface.
What we never seem to see are the consequences of their decisions.
You See What Your Friends Want You To See
It is extremely important to remember this when we think about someone else’s spending.
Let’s be honest, we all care about our status; especially if we compare it to our friends, family, and workmates.
In fact, it can be so serious that we may lose our self-esteem if we see that our consumption is below that of our age-group!
This is known as conspicuous consumption. And it might lead you to overspend relative to what the people around you are spending. A classic case of peer pressure in the adult stage!
You Can’t See What Others Give Up!
It’s a common misconception that those who spend big have truckloads of money coming in.
Nope! In fact, you might be surprised what your peers are sacrificing to maintain that boujee lifestyle.
For some, they might be spending long hours in the office, or even running time-consuming side-hustles that they barely have enough time for 5 or even 4 hours of sleep!
Others might be taking up massive loans and living on a monthly deficit just to maintain their flashy lifestyle.
And if that’s not enough, others might even be dealing in illegal undertakings and risking their freedom.
So before you’re quick to beat yourself up, it’s better to first try on their shoes and see exactly what’s going on.
In the end, Being more mindful about spending returns our focus to where it should be: our own decisions and our own lives, rather than others.
But if the envy bug bites again, you should realize that other people’s lavish lifestyles may not be all they seem.
They may have a lot of debt.…Maybe they’re going to work until they are 80!