Social Pressures To Spend your Money
By Matt - Monday, September 17th, 2007
From a young age we are conditioned by society to act a certain way. Part of this is the normal aspects of fitting into a society: fighting, theft and vandalism are taught as being socially unacceptable. On the same token we’re conditioned to spend our money a certain way. We are inundated by the media and our peers with all of the things that they spend their money on while at the same time being pressured into a purchase because NOW is the only time we can purchase an item.
When you spend too much money you’re forced to borrow it from somewhere and this comes with a cost, interest. By the time we finish school the pressure to spend has translated into credit cards and fancy items in our homes. Its socially acceptable to be in debt while we go through our daily lives. If this was debt such as a mortgage then I would say this isn’t nearly as much of a problem as it is. But the latest cars, computers, and electronics have little value when it comes to re-sellability.
Yesterday I wrote about accepting financial responsibility for your actions and we’re told that this isn’t important by the media and that we really need to buy the latest Blackberry because Paris Hilton has one. The pressure to keep up with the proverbial Jones’ is in my opinion so strong in our society is hamstrings us financially from a young age. If your neighbor happens to make a lot of money and can reasonably afford a BMW or a Porsche that doesn’t mean you can or should. Unfortunately we are all fixated on status symbols, too fixated because we can’t afford those status symbols.
Succumbing to the social pressures to spend money is something each and every person has to deal with in their own way. I no longer look at what my friends are spending their money on because I can’t afford the big screen TV or take an exclusive trip to Hawaii at the moment. I also don’t look at the media when it comes to the Hollywood stars; they have money to spend without the fear of not having money for food. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want what both of these groups have or do – I’m just being responsible not to put it on credit when I know I’d have difficulty paying it down. Its not necessarily the most popular choice in my mind but it is unfortunately a necessary one.
Maybe the coverage that the sub-prime mortgage market is getting right now will have an impact on spending. Maybe we’ll start realizing the buying a car that costs as much as a house in some parts of the country might be too much? Then again that would be asking too much.
This entry is filed under Commentary, Debt.
6 Responses to “Social Pressures To Spend your Money”
1 January says:
September 17th, 2007
at 10:02 am
Your society is not the only one being pressured daily to buy one thing or the other and pay later. Recently, banks within Nigeria have introduced the credit card, all kinds of consumer loans aimed at inducing the public to satisfy their urge regarding the latest plasma screen TV and all kinds of luxury cars, with the assurance that they can pay later. However, there’s one question I’ve always meant to ask you. It’s regarding student loans. How come in the western world, prospective students need a loan to go to school? Why do they end up with a huge amount plus interest in terms of the loan figure they have to pay back? Here in Nigeria, parents are largely responsible for their ward’s education, from primary through to the university.Upon graduation, you’re expected to start working so that you can live a comfortable life. In other words, our own students are practically debt free.
2 Shelby Crutchley says:
September 17th, 2007
at 6:50 pm
Honestly, I couldn’t agree with you more. I just discovered your blog, and my fiancee and I have a similar goal to “have gainful employment be optional” by the time we reach 35. Right now we are up to our ears in paying down the debt we accumulated while dating 1100 miles apart. He has a blog at The Grumpstump and I wrote a lens on Squidoo (under his name) about the budgeting software we’re using to get to our goals. Good luck and I look forward to reading this in the future!
3 Golbguru says:
September 18th, 2007
at 1:09 pm
Ah.. it’s almost like you stole my thoughts!
I have a post brewing on this subject and it should be out in a couple of days. Hopefully, it will have another angle to tackle.
Good job with this post.
4 Liz says:
September 18th, 2007
at 1:36 pm
Have you ever seen “Cribs” on MTV. That for me is the best show to train you away from conspicuous consumption. You see the closets full of boxes of shoes, and the backyard turned water park, and you know that star doesn’t have selling power and the water park is going to be dry in another year… LOL
5 Carnival of Personal Finance #119 - Blunt Money says:
September 24th, 2007
at 9:05 am
[...] One Million and Beyond presents Social Pressures to Spend your Money. The pressure to keep up with the proverbial Jones’ is so strong in our society that it hamstrings us financially from a young age. [...]
6 Where Exactly Is The “Pressure” To Spend? says:
September 27th, 2007
at 10:44 am
[...] According to Matt at One Million and Beyond: The pressure to keep up with the proverbial Jones’ is in my opinion so strong in our society is hamstrings us financially from a young age. [...]
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