The Joneses Are Everywhere

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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.

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.

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 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. 

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Thomas C. Corley About Thomas C. Corley

Tom Corley is a bestselling author, speaker, and media contributor for Business Insider, CNBC and a few other national media outlets.

His Rich Habits research has been read, viewed or heard by over 50 million people in 25 countries around the world.

Besides being an author, Tom is also a CPA, CFP, holds a master’s degree in taxation and is President of Cerefice and Company, a CPA firm in New Jersey.
 
Phone Number: 732-382-3800 Ext. 103.
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Comments

  1. “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.”

    Wow, incredibly well said, and I completely agree with every word. Comparing ourselves to other people is a one-way street to nowhere. An outward focus takes attention away from the self-reflection we need to make the BEST decisions that we can for ourselves. We need to stay focused on US. Do what’s in our best interest first and foremost. I realize that might sound self, but I don’t really care. Our mask first, then our neighbor’s.

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