The biggest threat to financial security is the desire to impress others. Of all the psychological and behavioral deficiencies mentioned above, one especially curious phenomenon deeply impacts the financial decisions we make. We are all affected by it. No one is immune to it, including myself. It is commonly known as “keeping up with the Joneses.”
We enter dangerous ground when we care more about what others think of us than we care about doing what is right for ourselves and our families. This is a slippery slope that can ruin us financially because we can never be completely satisfied that we are impressing everyone around us. We will always be able to find someone who has more and better things than we do.