So, one day you're mowing your lawn. You look up from your old, broken-down lawn mower and see that your neighbour is pulling into his driveway in a brand-new luxury car while a team of paid gardeners carefully trims his lush, green lawn. You don't get it. His house is the same size as yours, and he and his wife don't have anything special to do for a living. How does he have so many more toys than you do? How is he able to pay for them?
Well, my hard-working friend can rest easy, because if he's like most Americans, he can't. He's just another person hurt by the fact that people in our country always want bigger and better things, even if they can't afford them. You might feel a little jealous for a second or two, but it won't last. You won't regret not trying to "keep up with the Joneses."
Why we do it
People in the U.S. love to spend money. People in our country care a lot about status symbols, and modern advertising would have you believe that you can buy anything. We believe it too, since loans and credit cards are easy to get at any time. But careless spending without real cash to back it up is digging us deeper and deeper financial holes. Why do we do it then?
Studies on the "affluenza" epidemic have shown that there are several reasons why Americans spend the way they do. First, we work hard. The average American spends hours getting to and from a job that doesn't make them happy. Spending is a way to get rid of the stress of the daily grind and make sense of why we work 40 or more hours a week.
Also, TV has led us to believe that anyone can buy high-end things like BMWs and Tag Heuer wristwatches, not just the super-rich elite.
Both of these are good reasons, but what really makes us spend so much is our insecurity and jealousy. Even though everyone has financial problems from time to time, we all want to give the impression that we're fine and can afford the finer things in life. This way of doing things will only make things worse in the long run.
We all want to be like our friends and have things that are as good as or better than what they have. When we see poor or homeless people on the street, we never stop to think about how lucky we are to have money. We lose sight of what's really important in life when we're always looking for bigger and better toys. In the meantime, we're piling up so much debt that it will be hard to ever get out from under it.
What to do to stop it
You can protect yourself from affluenza, though. Set a few long-term goals as a simple first step. Plan to travel the world after you retire? Then, before you buy that RV right now, try to picture yourself on that African safari with your spouse 20 years from now. Don't let what you buy now ruin your dreams for the future. Sure, it's not easy to give up something you want right now for something you want a long time from now. But keep in mind that a little bit of willpower can go a long way.
