Surround yourself with people who make you feel good and who lift you up. Just because you were friends with someone in middle school doesn’t mean you need to be friends with them now. That might sound harsh! But it’s important to remember that not everyone is meant to stay in our lives. If you feel pressured by your friends, neighbors, or loved ones to live outside of your means, maybe it’s time for them to go. That way, you’ll be able to have fun without feeling guilty or stressed. Even if you have to set the money aside in a separate account, plan for it so that you know it’s there. If it’s important to you to go out to brunch, get your hair done, or anything else like that, build the costs into your monthly budget. Set money aside every month (if you can) to make sure you have money to spend on trips when they come up. If you love traveling, you don’t have to break the bank to make it happen. But that’s why it’s important to create a budget that works for your lifestyle. What’s the point of having money if you can’t do the things you enjoy? Of course, there’s a limit to what you can do while still living within your means. I don’t believe that sticking to a budget means you aren’t allowed to do anything that makes you happy. Getting clear on what differentiates you from others will make it easier for you to make financial decisions based on what you want, rather than what you think you should be doing. Do you value the things you see your friends spending money on? If not, then you don’t need to spend money on the same things. Values are beliefs and principles that make what we do in life worthwhile and meaningful to us. It turns out, one of the key ways to find fulfillment is to make choices that align with our values. It’s important that your money habits line up with your personal values. So how can you be true to yourself instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses? 1. I want you to be happy! But we shouldn’t be sacrificing our financial security just to keep up with other people’s highlight reels.

And of course there’s nothing wrong with living your best life. It makes us wonder if we’re doing life wrong. We see people Instagram-ing pictures of their latest “treat yourself” item, going out to brunch every weekend, or going on amazing international vacations. Social media makes this pressure even stronger. It’s also probably the reason that most Americans who earn over $120,000 a year are living paycheck to paycheck. This pressure leads us to do things we don’t truly want to do and spend more money than we have or want to spend. Now how does this idiom impact us? It puts unseen pressure on us to be as good, as successful, as wealthy, as impressive as those around us seem to be. Funny enough, this phrase originated from a comic strip of the same name, which ran from 1913 to 1940.īut we shouldn’t be sacrificing our financial security just to keep up with other people’s highlight reels. Who even are the Joneses? Why do we care about them? “Keeping up with the Joneses” is an old idiom that refers to comparing yourself to those around you in order to determine your social status.

After dinner all the grandparents met us at the house for some cake and gifts.Pre-S: This month’s blog theme is money and how it relates to our loved ones. He picked Izumi for dinner so he could get all the sushi. On his birthday we went bowling (minus Sydney because she was working). Thankfully this child is super chill about that type stuff so he was very understanding with my lack of planning. I didn't plan very well for his birthday this year. He's such a character and we love him for it. He regularly drives me nuts, but knows that if he flashes his perfect smile I get over whatever he is doing that is driving me nuts. Every single on of his little cousins adore him. He is the BEST and I mean the best big cousin. He loves his sisters and also loves to annoy them. BUT every so often I can bribe him for a hug in the privacy of our home. He doesn't like for me to call him cute names or remotely try to touch in public. He likes to wear hoodies even when it's a million degrees outside. He's very much in the middle school teenage boy phase of life.

Keeping up with the joneses