DON’T TRY TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Those exotic trips your friends are taking could break your bank, and they might not be as great as they look
If it hasn’t happened yet, it likely will at some point in your online life.
Fellow retirees and pre- retirees will post pictures of their travels and adventures to exotic places — the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in Iceland, Nature’s Valley in South Africa, Machu Picchu and the Galápagos Islands, and you — not wanting to miss out on the fun — might want to do the same and then some.
What do experts say about keeping up the with Joneses?
YOU’RE NOT IMMUNE
One in four adults will become envious after seeing other people’s vacation photos and pictures of expensive purchases posted online, according to a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the AICPA. Also, consider that everyone’s at risk of falling victim to such stories. “Underneath every financial decision, there is a story we are telling ourselves,” says Sarah Newcomb, author of Loaded: Money, Psychology and How to Get Ahead Without Leaving Your Values Behind.
Social comparisons can drain your bank account. They “can be dangerous in terms of our sense of identity and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are in comparison with others,” says Newcomb.
Others agree. “We’re highly sensitive to relative comparisons, and that’s pretty much doomed to make us unhappy unless we focus our attention elsewhere,” says Stephen Wendel, head of behavioral science at Morningstar.
So what can you do to protect yourself from social comparisons that might cause you to ruin your best- laid retirement plans?
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
What you see on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Twitter may be a façade. “When we see a social media thread or post, we are seeing a ‘ story’ that someone else is telling about their lives,” Newcomb says.
“That story is the heavily edited highlight reel of their lives, and it doesn’t tell the whole tale: We do not see their debt or savings, or the sleepless nights. We don’t see the pit in their stomach when they open their credit card bill, but we see the smiling faces when they treat their kids to a beach vacation. We see a photo and tell ourselves the story of their amazing lives, and then we compare it to our own personal story, and we decide that we fall short.”
They may have saved up for years to buy that boat, or maxed out their credit cards for that trip.
FOCUS ON YOUR OWN FINANCES
Enjoy the photos of family and friends on social media, but don’t let jealousy get the better of you. Instead, focus on your finances and what you can do or not do with your money.
“Social media is sizzle,” says Sean Stein Smith, a member of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. “It fades quickly. Focus on the components that really matter to your finances.”
REFRAME THE ISSUE
Instead of looking at how others spend money, look at how they save. “Change your reference points to friends who are responsible savers and modest spenders,” says Jodi DiCenzo, a partner at Behavioral Research Consulting.
Powell is editor of Retirement Weekly. Got questions about money? Email Bob at rpowell@allthingsretirement.com.
“That story is the heavily edited highlight reel of their lives, and it doesn’t tell the whole tale.” Sarah Newcomb, author