Keeping up with the Joneses is also known as Conspicuous Consumption.
The term keeping up with the Joneses has been defined by the Phrase Finder as striving to match one’s neighbours in spending and social standing. Keeping up with the Joneses is officially known as conspicuous consumption. Developed by Sociologist and Economist Thorstein Veblen, it describes the act of spending money on and acquiring things to display one’s economic power.
It has been around for many years dating as far back as tribal times when men had women and slaves as “trophies of their status.” An in depth article by Christine Page can be found on the Association for Consumer Research’s website. The articles gets very specific as traces the roots of conspicuous consumption and its development over time.
Let me give you some modern day examples. Lady A wants to impress Lady B, so she buys an expensive handbag. Lady B is impressed and decides to buy the same handbag or something similar. Don’t worry guys, you are guilty of it too. Guy A bought some new rims for his car and Guy B jumps on the bandwagon and gets some for his car too. Lady B and Guy B can not afford it, but if Lady A and Guy A can do it, so can they.
Lisa Smith wrote a fabulous article on Investopedia entitled Stop Keeping Up With The Joneses – They’re Broke. It sums up my feelings on the subject perfectly. The moral of the story is that the Joneses are broke, and just like some of you, they’re “fronting”. They’re pretending to be something that they’re not and spending money that they don’t have.
Everyone wants to show off their latest phone, MP3 player, car, bags, shoes and clothing. But at what cost? Just to show off? Just for attention? Just to say “look at me” or “I have one of those too?” Spending more than you earn is not a fad, and it can leave you in debt even if you have what your neighbour has.
The challenge lies not in the quest for ideas, but the means to make the ideas successful.
I found an article written by Henry Unger entitled Wanted: Ideas to Create More Jobs in Georgia in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It is an old article, but seems that in the more than two years since it was written, nothing has changed. It seems that now, more than ever, there is huge need for ideas to create more jobs.
The idea to create more jobs does not lie solely with the government or any other regulatory bodies. Individuals should try to dip their toes into entrepreneurship. Everybody can not and will not be an entrepreneur, but there is always room for someone with a great idea.
The challenge, as highlighted in the article, is often centered around funding. Like I was telling a neighbour a couple days ago, I have the ideas, but no money to follow through. I guess I have to find some ideas that require little investment, but can become profitable.
Programmes like the Skills Training Programme in Barbados and the Georgia Works programme ( highlighted in Mr. Unger’s article) are meant to give people the hands on experience that they need. How successful are they? I don’t have a clue, but based on what they are intended to do, I should think that they are fulfilling their purpose.
Short courses which offer hands on education and practice are popular here in the Caribbean. Many people have launched catering, landscaping, soft furnishings, electrical and plumbing businesses based on what they learned in a three month course.
So when I saw that heading about a call for ideas to create more jobs, I thought about all of the ideas that I have and the stumbling block of no funds. I think that the ideas are there, but the challenge is to find a way to take those ideas and turn them into successful businesses with little or no money. Possible? Yes. Easy? No.
When you make up in your mind that you’re going to study, you’ve won only half of the battle. The other half is figuring out how to finance your education. Any bet, the reason for making the decision to study was at least one of better job prospects, a job requirement or personal enhancement.
I have friends, who would like to pursue advanced degrees and certifications, but the cry is all the same – they can not afford it. The drive and desire is there, but the funds are not. Yes, there are a few things that you can try, but I think a combination of things could make life a lot easier.
The first thing that pops into mind when thinking about financing education is the scholarship. There are literally thousands of scholarships available, but the problem is finding the ones that you qualify for. Competition is fierce and in this case, the early bird catches the scholarship.
I’ve been trying to tell a family member that whenever he’s going to pursue a graduate degree, try to find a co-op programme, which would allow him to study and work at the same time. In my opinion, these programmes have an edge, because you can get paid whilst you study, which can be used to supplement any scholarships.
The student loan is another way to finance education. If you can get a student loan that will let you study first and pay afterwards, then that’s a safe bet. But if your student loan kicks in from the time you get it, you’re in for a rough time. It means that either you or your family will have to pay that loan whilst you are studying.
It seems as though the best advice that I can give is to start the process early. Give yourself time to research universities, scholarships, the type of programmes that are offered in your chosen field and the student loans that are available. Doing this research is not easy, so you should be prepared to spend time on it.
Tips for a first time renter.
I don’t think that I’ve ever written a post about renting an apartment or a house. It was never something that I was interested in doing. My dream is to build my own home with an adjoining apartment. But, I have a friend who is moving into his own apartment and he asked me for some tips for a first time renter.
I decided to tackle it from the perspective of what I would be interested in, if I was looking to rent an apartment. These things are not in a particular order, but I think that they are of importance.
- Location of the apartment – I do not own a car so choosing where I want to live is critical. I would look for somewhere that is on a reliable bus route.
- Monthly rental – My budget would ultimately determine how much I can pay for rent. I would set myself a maximum figure that I am comfortable with and look for apartments within that price range.
- Security deposit required – Many landlords request a security deposit which is equal to one or two months’ rent. Ideally I should have this money upfront to give to the landlord.
- Utilities included in the monthly rental – I would want to know what utilities, if any, are included in the monthly rental fee. Electricity, water (heat and air conditioning) and cable may or may not be offered by the landlord and you will have to supply your own.
- Furniture and appliances – Will the home be fully furnished, semi furnished or unfurnished? If it is semi furnished or unfurnished, I would have to buy furniture and appliance, which is an additional cost.
- Home and contents insurance – The landlord should have the property insured against disasters. Will my contents be covered under the home’s insurance or do I have to ge my own insurance?
- Condition of the rental – Nobody wants to rent a junk box. If the property has to be repaired, how long will it take and will the repairs be finished by the time that I’m ready to move in?
- Repairs and maintenance – Landlords are usually responsible for all repairs and maintenance of the property.
If the answers to these questions and concerns are acceptable, then I would be ready to begin my life as a renter. I would also advise that there should be a lease agreement which lists the specific details of the rental terms. The lease agreement should contain the majority (maybe all) of the items I listed above.
One word of advice I would give to my friend is to make sure that he can afford to move out. He should be able to pay his rent and utilities without any problems. I would advise him to make his rental expense a line item in his budget (if he budgets, sigh) so that he knows that is one thing he can not compromise.
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and those who play the role of mother to their children and other’s people children.
Thank you for being the investor and providing the financial support to buy food, clothing and shelter for that child.
Thank you for being the accountant who made sure that that child received what it needed, even though the pay was not that much.
Thank you for being the ultimate musician by singing that child to sleep at night.
Thank you for being the chauffeur who took that child from Point A to Point B to Point C and back.
Thank you for being the housekeeper who cleaned up after and prepared meals for that child.
Thank you for being a doctor when that child was ill.
Thank you for being a psychologist and lending an ear when that child needed someone to listen.
Thank you for being the journalist and expressing your pride and joy to the whole world when that child accomplished something great.
Thank you for being the cheerleader when that child needed encouragement and motivation to do something.
Thank you for your love.
Favourite Mother’s Day Posts
It’s Mother’s Day and it’s only right that I highlight some great posts about mothers.
- Career Lessons From My Mom at Modest Money
- Frugal Mother’s Day Ideas at Frugal Confessions
- Mother’s Day for Daddies at Femme Frugality
- Parents as Resources for Children at Family Money Values
- 3 Things That Suck (Financially) About Being a Single Mom at So Over Debt
- Cheap Things to Get Mom on Mother’s Day at Yes I Am Cheap
- Mother’s Day Gifts I Really Want at The Debt Princess
- 10 Frugal Mother’s Day Gift Ideas at Grocery Alerts
Happy reading!
