How Other People Get You to Spend Your Money

Do you spend your own money because you choose to or do others play a role in how, when and where you spend? You might be surprised that you money is not always about you …

Money is more than just what we use to buy products and services, and finance our life. When you think about it money has a language all its own. Money is wrapped up in what we can afford to do or not do and money is a symbol of how well a person is doing on a socio-economic level. In trying to keep up with the Joneses’ (or so the saying goes) many people end up in debt.

A Powerful Tool in Our Hands

Money is a form of currency that is a very powerful tool as it sends a message to other people. For those who have plenty of cash and can afford to spend without going into debt they can impress others with ease while for plenty of other people who fall into the “have not” group they rely on such things as loans, payday loans and their credit cards to get them the funds to buy what they feel they need to send the right societal message to others. Of course that message is that they have arrived so to speak and can afford the finer things in life- even if in reality they cannot.

Invisible Peer Pressure

There are other instances where other people influence people in the direction of spending their money. Sometimes in the work place an event is going on and a person does not want to appear as if they cannot afford to attend so inadvertently they feel an invisible kind of peer pressure that causes them to spend money on dinner theater tickets or an expensive meal at a restaurant because they do not want to feel left out of the group or out of the loop. Nobody enjoys this feeling, especially when they arrive at work on Monday morning and the office is abuzz with the social event of the year that took place on Saturday night and they were the only one who did not attend because they had no money to do so.

Chastised for Buying Cheap

Others sometimes inadvertently get people to spend their money when they chastise them for buying cheaper or more generic brands of products instead of automatically purchasing the very best. This can be the case when it comes to almost everything, be it tires, household supplies, wine, clothing, shoes, groceries and so on. We all want what is best for other people but sometimes a person with the financial means to buy something will not realize that their friend or loved one has less means to do so. No one enjoys saying to another person, “I can’t afford that” and if it is spoken it is always done so in a hushed or whispered tone. Trying to keep up to others standards is a common way that people spend money they do not really have.  

Use your own mind and be your own guide when it comes to your money. Don’t part with it unless you really want to.  

Image: phanlop88 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net