I'm looking for ideas for my blog. "Keeping up with the Joneses" seems to be a philosphy that permeates our culture. What can people do in today's society to say, "Screw the Joneses!" without sacrificing quality of life? Here are some examples:

- Take a more satisfying job for LESS pay
- Become a one income family
- Downsize their home to a more manageable payment

Ideas, anyone?

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I think the biggest hurdle in saying, "Screw the Joneses!" is taming the green eyed monster within. If you can keep those green eyes in check it makes things much easier. We really are very lucky in my family, we have a whole lot more than we need (of everything), we will never go hungry and we have a rich family life. We do have a few toys, but overall we live a very simple life so that we can make it on one income that is not a large one. DH and I both have generous parents who give us and our children lots of love and enjoy spoiling all of us, so we have some nice things. I think it's a matter of what you find is important to you and the priorities you set. We don't have an expensive home, or drive expensive cars, we combine our vacations with my folks to cut costs and do a lot of using up or wearing out or doing without on luxuries.

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~*JAMI*~ GO RED SOX! WORLD CHAMPIONS!

I think you have to be satisfied with what you have. I guess you might also want to look at how the Joneses got to where they are to realize that you don't need to keep up with someone in a different stage as you. I look as several of my friends. Friend A nice beautiful home with a view in a nice area (rents it from parents), Friend B decent size split level beautifully decorated (ok they have about 10 years on us waited longer to start a family and bought when housing prices were lower), Friend C also nice new spaciouse house (her DH has to work long hours and is out of town most of the time). I could go on but I realize that every single one of my friends is in a different sittuation to get to where they are. I also look at the other side the friends living with there grandparents so she can stay home, the ones who are still renting places, the ones who are 5-7 years younger then me and are barely making ends meet while working 3 jobs.
Once you realize that people are at different stages you don't see the reason to try and keep up.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

You might laugh at this idea, but honestly i have thought about going to live with the Amish for a week. I would have to find an Amish family that would allow that....lol. There is something about them that fascinates me......how they can be so happy in life with so little material items. They are the ultimate in Simple living. I think one full week with them and i would never complain about not having something i wanted,but didn't really need.

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"Go on, get outside, get the stink blown off ya!!"

First and foremost, I think it is important to stop worrying other's opinions. I think many people do(buy)/don't do things because they don't want to be "seen" a certain way.
Know who you are, be comfortable with who you are and what you have and everything else will follow.
Examples I could think of:
Don't sacrifice what is important to you - if you care about environment, don't buy a big SUV because all your friends have it.
Teach your children your values - nowhere it is written that the latest video game is the life's requierement
Don't be afraid to have your own style - trendy today will be gone tomorrow and so will your money.

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Lena

Have you read the book Affluenza?
Amazon.com: Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (Bk Currents): Books: John de Graaf,David Wann,Thomas H Naylor,Vicki Robin,David Horsey



If not I recommend you do. I checked it out at the library.

this one looks interesting as well
Amazon.com: The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need: Books: Juliet B. Schor

Why do we need 2 cars... If one car works for your lifestyle, go for it! Screw the Jones'!

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Arrica (30)
DH (37) - Larry (married 10/14/00)
DD - Emersyn (08/25/06)
Furbabies - Loti and Cooper

I think the most important thing is to just sit and really think about what it is that you NEED to exist. Happiness comes from contentment.

We need a roof over our head, but it doesn't have to be an overly elaborate home with a huge payment book to go with it. There is nothing to be ashamed of for having a tastefully simple and comfortable home.

We need transportation, but definately don't need to have new cars every couple of years. We buy used and I'm going to do a cartwheel this fall when the payment book is gone and I hope not to have one for a long time.

We need to eat. But, we don't need to eat at restaurants. We have a garden in the back yard that provides lots of fresh veggies every summer. It takes a lot of work to can and freeze them, but also gives us a sense of pride.

We need family time. But we don't need expensive vacations. We've never taken one. We love to spend time together mostly right here at home or very locally. A really fun summer night out can be at the drive in and we pack our own munchies.

What we need mostly is to be thankful that we are healthy and are all here together.

I have noticed how so many parents give things to their children without hesitation and most likely due to peer pressure. When did children need birthday parties where parents rent movie theaters, those bouncy gym things, rent a limo to take the kids places, etc. I see that the kids come to expect these things because their friends have them. What kind of messages are we sending to our children. Bigger is better?

That is an area where I see the pressure. I do not like to see my kids unhappy, nevertheless, I don't plan on spending huge amounts of money for birthday parties. They can wait until they graduate from high school or get married.

Great thread! I agree that one of the most important things we need to teach is that family is important. I know some of my friends have the newest everything but see their DH very rarely. My DH is usually home by 4 everyday and we live comfortably. Somehow the basic priorities shifted. I once spoke to an Australian who said "we work to live, Americans live to work!" and it's stuck with me all these years. Find what is important to you, maybe the Joneses like having the latest gadgets but I say what good is the new cellphone/mp3 player/camera/camcorder if there's no one around to share it with?

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Angie
Married to my best friend 9.99
Mother since 4.04 to "Bobo" and his "baby" 9.06