I heard some interesting comments today where people were looking at the prices for various products from a multitude of merchants that were all near each other. A comment then came out from a person that seeing people spend so much money on particular items make him want to save more as he doesn’t want to be “dumb” like that too.
Kind of funny how that works in my opinion where it’s probably true as if you nag a person to save money most likely they will be apprehensive as they don’t want to be told what to do. However, if you can give them examples where it makes them think that they are smarter than someone else then most likely they would continue to go that route.
So I was thinking like in this example if you were constantly given say flyers from some of the most expensive stores where you know a ton of people shop at everyday do you think that would mold you to always want to try and find the best deals as you don’t want to be “like them” so to speak? It’s almost like the opposite equivalent of people who buy expensive things a as status symbol except in this case it’s trying to save money as the highlight.
To a certain extent seeing other people’s spending habits can essentially be like a free school for you in how to manage your finances I think. In many ways you are learning from their mistakes so that you don’t have to go through it as well. Especially if it’s an over the top example of people spending too much it tends to stick with you whenever you think of making hasty purchases.