How to Turn Financial Peer Pressure Around

There’s an old saying that goes something like this:

Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.

In my experience, it’s true. We seek to fit in with those around us, and that applies every bit as much to money-related decisions as it does to other life choices.

Money-Related Peer Pressure

It’s obvious when our friends and coworkers spend money. We see them going out to eat, going out on weekends, buying shiny new iPods, iPads, and iPhones. As a result, we experience peer pressure to spend–to “keep up with the Joneses.”

But it’s not obvious when our friends and coworkers save and invest money. You don’t see that Lauren has been building up her emergency fund or that Matt has been making big monthly contributions to his 401(k).

There’s a social taboo against talking about money (except to say that you don’t have any). It would be seen as bragging if a friend told you that she had written a check to Vanguard on January 1 to max out her Roth contribution for the year.

The end result of this taboo is that there’s more peer pressure to get into debt than get out of it and more peer pressure to spend money than to save it.

Creating the Right Kind of Peer Pressure

Of course, most people are resistant to the idea of ditching their friends and exclusively befriending wealthy people for the remainder of their lives. But given that, my suggestion for creating positive financial peer pressure in your life is this: Read. A lot.

If you read enough books, magazines, and blogs about investing, the subconscious part of your brain–the part that’s so sneaky about making you feel the need to keep up with everyone else–will eventually get the idea that investing is normal.

Everybody’s doing it.

Naturally, I’m particularly fond of blogs for providing this positive social reinforcement. Because they tend to be written by people other than financial professionals, they’re good for proving to yourself that regular people–people just like you–have made investing a priority in their lives as well. As an added bonus, these blogs serve well as a daily dose of motivation to keep you on the right track too. I read them, and I encourage you to keep reading!

About the Author: Mike Piper is the author of Investing Made Simple. He also blogs at The Oblivious Investor, where he explains topics like Roth IRA withdrawal rules and whether you should rollover your 401(k).

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