Don’t let FOMO put you in debt
Dear Money Lady Readers — my daughter said to me the other day that she had FOMO and I had no idea what she was talking about?
If you don't already know, let me tell you what the young are now calling “FOMO” the “fear of missing out.”
Personally, I believe that the rise of all of our new FOMO feelings is due to social media, something that most of us have heavily indulged in due to COVID-19.
Nowadays, everything is instant and on display right in front of you so that you feel envy and regret about how others have more or are doing more exciting things than you.
The COVID-19 restrictions have definitely caused us to experience these feelings more than ever before.
In the past, when you ran into someone and asked them how they are, and they told you about their latest purchase or fancy vacation, you really had no time to feel that you were missing out on other people's awesome experiences. But now, we get to feel this instantly through our phones or on Facebook because we have been isolated and restricted to socially interact. We have had over a year of seeing all those wonderful pictures of other people's lives on the internet and now feel we somehow have been missing out on life and are no longer happy with what we have. Now more than ever, there seems to be a pent-up demand for purchasing, upgrading, buying more and of course, saving less.
Why not take a break from the FOMO? Turn off the social media, either for a couple of hours, days or weeks. This will do wonders for making you feel better about your own life and stop the comparisons of your regular life to the polished versions of those online. Remember that credit card companies build their business on you borrowing from your future. They want you to buy now rather than save to buy later.
With credit, it's easy to fall for the instant gratification and convince yourself that later can take care of itself. Be careful not to create “excuse spending.” This is when we feel we are justified to spend — because we deserve it. We may think all the hard work we have done, the sacrifices we have made, and the lack of acknowledgement for that work and those sacrifices, warrants or entitles us to that splurge spend… .because we deserve it.
But, what do you really deserve? Do you feel you are missing out?
If you think that material possessions or experiences are the things you deserve, then you need to think again.
What you deserve is to be free from future financial stress. Remember that while those purchases may feel luxurious in the moment, they could land you in financial stress that you don't deserve. I am not saying that you need to deprive yourself, but if you are suffering from FOMO and feel you need to reach to credit to improve your situation, remember that enjoying a stress-free financial life, honestly feels a lot better than any new car ever could. Good luck and best wishes, ATML - Christine Ibbotson
Christine Ibbotson is author of three finance books and the Canadian Best-Selling Book How to Retire Debt Free & Wealthy. Visit www.askthemoneylady.ca or send a question to info@ askthemoneylady.ca. Go online: Visit SaltWire.com to listen to Christine Ibbotson’s weekly podcast.