Remember the commercial where the guy talks about how great his life is with his nice 4-bedroom house, his new car, and his country club membership?
Then he says, “How do I do it? I’m in debt up to my eyeballs. I can barely pay my finance charges, somebody help me.” This is what we call keeping up with the Joneses – comparing yourself to others and always wanting what they have or wanting to be “better” than them.
You’re going to see a bunch of really, really (really) expensive commercials during the Super Bowl that are going to tell you how great your life will be if you buy “X” product. There’s a reason companies are willing to spend so much on 30 seconds…Who cares what car your neighbor drives or that your friend lives in a nicer house than you or that you don’t belong to an exclusive county club? Just because they *look* wealthy on the surface doesn’t really mean they are.
What you don’t see below the layer of nice things are their savings account balances, retirement account balances, and debt balances – the true indicators of wealth.
You don’t have the same income as them, the same goals as them, or the same life as them. Don’t compare yourself to them.
I’m in debt up to my eyeballs…
Remember that funny Lending Tree commercial where a guy named Stanley Johnson appeared to be living the good life? Stanley had the big house, a country club membership, a pool and even a brand new car. When asked how he does it, Stanley responds with a contrived smile, “I’m in debt up to my eyeballs; I can barely pay my finance charges.
