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The phrase “keeping up with the Joneses,” originated with Arthur (Pop) Momand’s Keep Up With The Joneses comic strip in the New York Globe. The strip was first published in 1913 and became popular quite quickly. By September 1915, a cartoon film of the same name was touring US cinemas.
The ‘Joneses’ in the cartoon weren’t based on anyone in particular. It was a very common name and ‘the Joneses’ was merely a generic name for ‘the neighbors’. Keeping up with the Joneses is construed to mean striving to match your neighbours in spending and social standing.
But the Joneses are no longer confined to the neighborhood. They are everywhere – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and TV reality shows.
We see pictures on Facebook of people living in beachfront homes, showing off their new vacation home, driving expensive cars, toting around the latest Burberry or vacationing in some exotic place.
When your values are off, when what’s truly important in life is forgotten or overlooked, it’s easy to become a victim of the influences of your environment.
Thanks to the Internet, our perception of the ideal standard of living has moved beyond the neighborhood. The Joneses are now everywhere and it’s far easier to become a victim of super-sizing your lifestyle in an attempt to keep up with those omnipresent Joneses, leading many to spend money they don’t have and to incur debt they will never be able to repay.
When your definition of success is what the Kardashian’s or the Housewives of LA are doing or buying, it’s safe to say, you’ve lost your way – and your values.
Your lifestyle end zone should not be defined by the Joneses. Your ideal life should be defined by what is truly important to living a happy, successful life: family, friends, relationships and having enough wealth to meet your basic needs.
Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner and author of “Rich Kids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life”, Effort-Less Wealth, Change Your Habits Change Your Life, Rich Habits Poor Habits and “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals.”
