A while ago, someone asked me a question. “Why don’t you upgrade your car?” I shrugged and replied, “Why? I don’t owe anything on it. I drive from home to work, drop the kids along the way, and then drive back home. I don’t really drive that much anyway.”
The conversation ended there, but the question stayed with me. It forced me to think about why we sometimes feel the need to display, and in some cases flaunt, our wealth.
Why is it that some people would not be caught dead driving certain vehicles because they believe those vehicles are beneath them? Why do we place so much value on appearances? More importantly, who are we trying to impress?
I remember a friend telling me a story about someone whose luxury vehicle had stopped on the road because they didn’t have money to buy gas. They ended up calling someone to come and help them. True story. Now explain the logic in that to me. “The maths not mathsing.”
Owning a luxury vehicle is not necessarily a problem. If you can comfortably afford it, then by all means enjoy the fruits of your labour. The issue arises when the image becomes more important than the reality.
Too many people have had cars repossessed because they could not keep up with the payments. Too many houses have been lost because the financial burden became too much. Many of us are only one paycheque away from serious financial difficulty, yet we often feel pressured to project an image that everything is going well.
Sometimes I wonder whether social media has made this worse. We are constantly exposed to carefully curated snapshots of other people’s lives. New cars. Bigger houses. Designer brands. Expensive dinners. Exotic vacations.
What we rarely see are the sacrifices, the debts, the sleepless nights, and the financial strain that may exist behind the scenes.
For me, I have always preferred experiences over displays. One of the reasons I have travelled is because I wanted to see how other people live. I wanted to broaden my own perspective and provide those experiences for my children as well. Those memories stay with you. They shape the way you see the world. No vehicle, no matter how expensive, can replace that. The same principle applies to many other things in life. It makes little sense to me to spend excessive amounts of money on the latest brand-name clothing, especially for my youngest son who seems to outgrow his clothes almost as quickly as we buy them. As I always tell my children, you don’t have to wear the latest fashions. Buy decent clothes, take care of them, and wear them well. There is dignity in that.
I am not suggesting that people should not enjoy success or purchase nice things. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working hard and rewarding yourself. The question is whether we are buying things because they genuinely add value to our lives or because we want others to see that we have them. Those are two very different motivations.
Perhaps true wealth is not found in what we display, but in the freedom that comes from living within our means. Perhaps it is found in having choices, reducing stress, creating memories, and building a future for those we love.
What do you think? Do you feel the need to show what you have achieved, or is it neither here nor there for you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. I genuinely want to know your thoughts, and I’m sure others do too. Feel free to comment 👍🏽, but if you’re not comfortable sharing, please reach out to me through any medium. I’d be thrilled if you could share something, anything, and let others know. Your comments help me understand your perspective and often present a completely different view on the topic. They could even inspire another blog. 😉 And you never know how your comment might benefit others. Remember, life is meant to be lived, and you should always strive to live your best life. #lifeisforliving #liveyourbestlife #gratefulforlife #faithgreaterthanfear
See you next Wednesday at 8:00 p.m., Bogotá time.