Do staffs define us? I bet they do. This is in the sense that we tend to buy things that we don’t need, with money that we don’t have, to impress people that don’t matter. It is okay to buy yourself the makeup kit, dress, sneaker, car or even an expensive house but my concern is on the drive for buying. Do you buy them because you need them or because you want to use them as a status symbol? I am implying that the ideas of people could dictate what we wear, what we do, how we carry ourselves, the cars we drive and even the houses we live in.
From humanistic psychology, I got to learn that satisfaction is the way of survival for us. we need to satisfy our basic, safety, social and esteem needs to achieve self-actualization. In this, we get to see how society’s approval is vital to our self-esteem and that’s okay but we are taking it overboard by wanting to tag everything to external validations. This will get us into financial mistakes especially if the purchase in question is of great value like a house.
We shall take a house to be our key example on this topic. Buying a house is a big-time decision and if we do it with the intention of impressing people then sadly we won’t pull it through.
Why buying a house to impress people doesn’t make financial sense.
Budget.
BUDGET
- A house needs to be bought or rented in line with your budget. As a realtor, I strongly advise that you let your income define where you should live. This is significant because it will make or break your financial life.
- I know we all want mortgage approval because a good house makes us feel good. But imagine taking a mortgage at 35 yrs then spending 25 years paying. Retirement will clock when you have no savings or investment because your income was translated to the mortgage payment. It is a devasting fact, right?
- Right, a mortgage will keep you in a long term debt so don’t be lured to buy the biggest and newest house just because that is what everyone wants. With a low or average income, it will take longer to pay off and when you miss the bank takes the property. Sadly, you will be working hard but never getting rich, we call this ”house-rich but pocket broke.”
- Remember a big house is equivalently expensive to maintain and will need costly furniture to match it, this still makes your income the determining factor. Those that matter don’t care where you live so why impress those that don’t matter? Ouch! it’s a bitter truth so why the pressure?
People fake.
- Have you tried thinking that the people you are trying to impress could be faking it too? Just because they appear to have everything doesn’t mean that they actually do. Some could be surviving on loans so why take that road? This a game of fitting in and the best way to win it is not to play it.
- You can never make everyone happy, so deal with that and avoid lifestyle inflation. This is having a lifestyle that costs more than you can afford. There is no prize tagged to living in the most expensive house and what your friends like isn’t what you like.
Future.
- Have a bigger picture, will you still choose the house you buy today over others in the future? Don’t buy things over short term feelings because that will be a waste of your hard-earned money. You would rather be left behind but make a worthwhile financial choice in the long-run.
In a nutshell,
You ain’t alone, we all get carried by the hype and the need to fit in but it is important to know that we have nothing to prove to people. Work hard and make sure you do things at your pocket-friendly time and do what’s best for you. When it is time to be a new homeowner, go for the design, location, cost, size and furnishes of your liking. This might not give you a sense of belonging but you will get happiness and satisfaction.
save
The same applies to rent, go for what you can afford even if it means taking a roommate. You would rather spend less and save more. Most of us are young and the time for the lavish life will come with less struggle of wanting to fit in. Let’s not buy things we don’t need to impress others.
Guess what, I am making it easy for you by giving you KENYA HOMES as the only thing to keep up with for more sophisticated insights and when the time comes, We shall simply house you.
