Envious Environment: How To Avoid Competitive Spending

Saving money isn’t about just being rigid with your spending or budgeting to the point that even a bottle of water winds up on your spreadsheet or money saving app. You also can’t overlook that type of spending that is ill-advised and done so with significant impulsiveness.

Some refer to it as money envy, a term that was coined to suggest that we spend money so that we can have the same things as our friends, family members or anyone else we have just a tad bit of jealousy for as it relates to the things that others own.

The concept is not too difficult to understand.

If you just bought a brand new car, I’ll do the same. You have the latest iPhone; now I have to have it.

And so the story of spending for all the wrong reasons is told, and for some (those who can’t afford to do that but insist they can) the repercussions are awful. What happens is you’ll end up blowing up your budget with great ease, and thus run up debt, spending money on credit cards and thus end up only adding to your expenses with those payments, not to mention whatever it is you bought that you’re paying for monthly (such as a car, for example).

So why do we spend just to show a certain status?

The sense of belonging or acceptance tends to be the main culprit as to why we buy and don’t need. Some can’t understand that living within your means or below it is the key to financial success, not rushing out and overspending or overpaying for an item or service that you simply can’t afford.

What is often overlooked is that people, the general public, enjoy spending money. There’s a rush involved, a sense of happiness that is linked to buying something new and also a level of “I’ve made it” that courses through your veins.

The truth is all of that allows you to feel great, but that is only momentary. How many of you have bought a car you know you can’t afford, and then the moment the first payment slip shows up at your door, you immediately wince when you have to pay for it.

That feeling should be the overriding factor, but opting to buy this, that and anything else shouldn’t be predicted on an impulse buy or something done to keep up with neighbors. Rather, you need to stay on course with your budget, managing your expenses in relation to your income and see the finished product as a bright, shiny, new financial freedom and responsibility.