Keeping Up with the Joneses

Why is it that we feel compelled to be just like everyone else and have everything that they have? We have to have better clothes, cars, homes, and anything else that the other person has. We are constantly bombarded with materialistic ads on the television and on the internet. They send out those subliminal messages to our psyche that we need to have that. Or your friend has it and you just have to have it. So we go out max out our credit cards and put ourselves in mortgage debt to get that fancy house and fancy clothes. It doesn't help when we get credit card offers in the mail constantly. Whatever happened to being grateful and appreciating what we have? It seems we have to have the bigger and better things. The minimum wage has not increased in almost ten years and we are constantly buying things. Don't get me wrong, it is great for the economy, but sooner or later it's going to haunt us. We are simply living beyond our means.

Christmas is right around the corner and people are paying ridiculous prices for these game systems and other things for their kids. These things are selling on Ebay for thousands of dollars. They are going as far as beating each other up and even killing someone for these material things. What kind of message are we sending to our children? I cannot justify spending that much money for a game system. I'm so glad my daughter is one year old and has no concept of gifts and toys. While I do want her to have nice things, I want her to understand (when she's older) the value of working hard and not using credit to get things on a whim.

I know I am guilty of it myself and I really hope I don't pass this on to my daughter. While I think it's great to have nice things, I don't want to put myself in a ton of debt to obtain them. I live in a nice home that could use a few upgrades. My '99 Honda is dependable and almost paid off! I will not be buying another car once it's paid off unless I absolutely have to. I am relishing the idea of not having to make a car payment for a good long time. I do have credit card debt that unfortunately my husband and I had to use in several emergency situations, but we plan to get that paid off as soon as we can. I often find myself wishing we had the money to get the things we want to get done our home, an addition and a carport. And sometimes I feel jealous when I see other people have nicer things that I do. But then I think to myself that they are probably up to their eyeballs in debt. I am working on trying to get the things I want without going into too much debt. I often have to stop and look at what I have and appreciate the roof over my head, food to eat, a warm bed to sleep in. But more often than not, I will find myself wanting more and more. My daughter has a ton of clothes, a nice crib to sleep in, and food to eat. There are so many people in this world, especially babies and children who don't have anything much less than clothes on their backs and a few pieces of food if that.