Shannon Lee Simmons

That's such a subjective term.

If you're too scared to look, then you're going to make it probably more scary in your head.

And even for people who have debt, I often say this too, like sometimes your debt monster is not as scary as you think.

I really think that knowing the numbers and mapping out the scenarios, it's like the most powerful thing people can do to feel less broke.

I think it's a lot.

So in a couple of ways.

So number one, when we feel broke all the time, I think at some point it's natural to reach that point where you're just like, oh, screw it, I'm gonna do it anyways.

The more frequently you feel like you're left out of something or you don't have something, the more likely you're just gonna eventually binge spend because you're always feeling you have constant restrictions.

So what social media is doing is making us feel like we're constantly deprived of a life that we should be having, even though we're not, we feel that way.

I use this example all the time.

15 years ago, if you wanted to see your neighbor's vacation photos, you would have had to knock on the door and be like, want to make me a copy?

Like, what?

And now you just like flip, flip, flip.

And you can see all the cool things that they got to do with their kids.

And then you start feeling like a bad parent and all of it.

I think that the social comparison has led to overspending because we reach that point of, I don't care anymore.

I'm going to do this anyways because everyone else is and I deserve to and I should get to do this as well.

And I also think the algorithm and frictionless spending are attached and linked through social media.

If

My algorithm knows what I like.