Lifestyles Ideas Management - The Poor Rich

Does it matter that your neighbor earns more than you? Yes it does as the problem we face today in our society is that the balance of our lives can all too easily become shifted too much towards the acquiring of positional goods, salaries, houses and cars. We assume that getting a pay rise, or moving into a new apartment, or trading up to a better care will bring us increased levels of happiness and satisfaction.
We work longer hours, earn more and spend more, more and consume more. We tend to compare ourselves with others on things like salary, house and a car.

There are people who complained that the demands of working full-time and looking after a family left her feeling stressed out and exhausted. She often talked about retiring and going on part-time. Since her husband earned a good salary and she could have afforded to do so. Then, an opportunity came with a part-time job available near her home. To my surprise she did not apply for it – she had decided to build an extension to her house and needed to work full-time in order to pay for it. It seemed to me that she had traded quality of life for a double-glazing. It is a trap that we can all easily fall into.

We just like to keep up with the Joneses.