Keeping Up With The Joneses

Hello Dear Young Friends, Not long ago I wrote to you about conspicuous consumption. This week, I am writing about a related personal finance stumbling block called “keeping up with the Joneses.” Are you familiar with that expression? Just in case you are not, I will start with the meaning.

What Does Keeping Up With The Joneses Mean?

Keeping up with the Joneses is an idiom that means keeping up with the neighbors. People want to be like the Joneses. The Joneses seem to have everything in life. They look good. This is because they have the best clothes. They have the best house and cars. Also, they go on the best outings. They have the most fun. 

What does it look like when people try to keep up with the Joneses?

New clothes are bought. Or, there may be new shoes, a new handbag, or a new fancy watch. The kids get new toys. 

When keeping up with the Jones, new cars or motorcycles show up in front of homes. Inside of homes, there can be new furniture, new appliances, new flooring, new cell phones, or new computers. There may be a new big screen television or there can be new equipment to listen to music. 

Keeping up with the Joneses may even encourage someone to buy a whole new house. That person may have expensive gatherings in the home. When they leave their homes, they keep up with the Joneses by going out to eat in restaurants or at least buying take out food.    

But, trying to keep up with the Joneses is expensive. So, it puts people into debt. Those who are already in debt, go deeper into debt.   

 

In short, the expense of keeping up with the Joneses at its best is preventing people from moving toward the financial independence that I encourage you to pursue. At its worst, it is causing people to be broke, ruin their credit, and even become stressed and depressed.

Keeping Up With The Joneses: Where Did This Expression Come From?

The Joneses were a fictitious family in a comic strip that started in 1913 and which ran until 1938. The comic depicted a family and their housekeeper as they struggled to keep up with their neighbors, the Joneses. The comic was a parody of the increasing American tendency to judge one’s own standing by comparing oneself with one’s neighbors and with whom you are around. (One funny thing about the comic strip is that the Joneses are never actually shown.) 

How To Fight The Desire To Try To Keep Up With The Jones

1. Make sure that you are not far less well off than everyone else in your closest circle. If you are not seeing the Joneses often, you will have more difficulty knowing and fewer reminders of what they are consuming. 
2. Practice thankfulness daily. Not only does doing so help your financial situation, but it is said to help with stress, anxiety and depression. 
3. Keep in mind that the Joneses are often not as successful as they appear. A 2019 Go Banking Rates survey revealed that 69% of Americans have less than $1000 in savings. With so many people with so little, there is a good chance that some of those people who appear to be doing well, based on their material possessions, are faking it. So, try to ignore the Joneses, who may be part of that fake group. 
4. Avoid debt. Only buy consumer goods that you can pay for in cash. If you do use a credit card, only use it when you can pay off the card fully that month.  
5. Plan a life for yourself which includes rewarding yourself when you meet various financial goals and when you can pay for the reward in cash, and not take away from the achieved goals. 
6. Focus on being a producer rather than a consumer. A consumer buys goods and services for their endless list of wants. Producers provide the goods and services in exchange for money from the consumers. 
7. Keep in mind that your self worth is not tied to what you own. Focus on your character, and being the best person that you can be. 
8. Do not compare yourself to others. President Theodore Roosevelt is reported to have said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
9. Be prepared to set boundaries when others encourage you to spend more money. 
10. If you find yourself losing while battling the temptation to “keep up with the Joneses”, I highly suggest meeting with a financial therapist.  

Keeping Up WIth The Joneses: Key Takeaways

• Keeping up with the Joneses means spending money to keep up with the lifestyle that you believe your neighbors and other people you know have, even if you have to struggle to do so.
• The expression is an idiom that came from an early 1900s comic strip of that same name. 
• Keeping up with the Joneses will slow your journey to financial independence, and even worse, could make you broke and possibly stressed and depressed. 
• Some things that you can do to fight the desire to keep up with the Joneses include:

1. Stay away from the Joneses, so you do not know what they appear to have.

2.   Practice thankfulness.

      3.   Focus on becoming a producer rather than a consumer.

      4.   Set boundaries with others who encourage you to spend

money. 

      5.   If all else fails, you could see a financial therapist. 

There you have it…You’ve been introduced to the Joneses. 

Now, you can go forth and not worry about the Joneses. Just focus on making your life (finances, wellness, social life…some aspect of your life) better.

Make your life better than yesterday, in at least some small way. You can do it! I have faith in you. 

Hugs, 

Rich Mom

Looking to read more? You can check out these posts: 

Conspicuous Consumption

Building Wealth In Your Twenties

Having Fun While Building Your Wealth

Pay Yourself First

Becoming a Credit Card Deadbeat

Who is Rich Mom? 

If you stumbled upon this post and you are wondering who Rich Mom is, check out my “About Rich Mom” page. 

Also, please note: I am not an investment advisor. Always do your own due diligence and research before investing. Check with your own investment advisor. 

Also, remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

The information shared here is not intended as financial advice, just entertainment and entertainment.