American spending habits aren’t always about the big purchases or obvious pressures. Sure, those are important, but a lot of the extra things we buy are due to the social routines that we follow without thinking much about them, including those related to school traditions or sports culture. It’s hard to notice how unusual these practices are when you’re in them. Here are eight cultural practices that encourage overspending due to the expectations to keep buying.
Keeping up with the Joneses
The phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” has been part of American culture for well over a century, and it’s something that people still do today. It involves trying to match, or even one-up, your neighbors’ & friends’ lifestyles. People will upgrade their car after someone else does, regardless of whether they actually need a new vehicle.
They’ll change their furniture so that it looks more current. Unfortunately, social media has only made the phenomenon of keeping up with the Joneses even more common because people are desperate to make sure that they can compete with those around them. All it really does is encourage people to keep spending.
Stadium tailgating culture
Many parking lots around football stadiums are filled with tents, grills, coolers, and folding tables before kickoff. These events are called tailgates. Sometimes, people will arrive hours early so that they can cook their food & decorate their space with team banners. The setup eventually grows over time. Sports fans feel like they have to buy better stuff for their tailgates.
They think they need to purchase better chairs and larger coolers, as well as more powerful speakers and any themed merchandise that’s related to the team. Fans who bought a ticket to the game treat tailgating as its own event. Soon enough, the pre-game ritual has turned into a reason to keep buying extra stuff.
The pumpkin spice season drop
You’ll know when fall has arrived because practically every coffee chain and grocery store across the country starts selling pumpkin spice drinks for a limited time. People start lining up for their first cup as soon as they can. At the same time, the stores will sell matching mugs & fall-themed snacks as part of the yearly fall ritual. It’s a bit much.
Many people get more seasonal items than they normally would because they feel under pressure to do so before the winter-themed line of stuff comes out. The season itself has almost become its own kind of event that people feel they need to celebrate in some way.
Lawn perfection
Quite a few neighborhoods treat lawn care as a reflection of who lives there, with everyone feeling like they need to upgrade their landscaping or add fresh mulch. It’s enough to make the whole street look more polished. However, it forces homeowners who were planning to keep things simple to buy edging tools & seasonal flowers.
They don’t want their yard to stand out for the wrong reasons. In some areas, HOAs reinforce the look with appearance rules, but even when these don’t exist, neighbors notice the difference. What started as basic mowing has now become a matter of recurring purchases to make sure the yard looks acceptable.
Holiday porch decorating
You’ll probably notice people’s front porches in suburban areas changing with the calendar. There’s the expectation to have a wreath during the fall, perhaps lanterns during the spring, as well as Christmas decorations during the festive season. These displays face the sidewalk, and that makes people compare them without even trying.
Sadly, it’s far too normal for homeowners to replace perfectly good decorations as soon as a new design hits the stores. It’s especially common when one of the neighbors changes theirs. Rather than being a one-time purchase, holiday porch decorating is more a matter of making seasonal changes. It gets quite expensive.
Personalized school spirit wear
School pride in the United States goes beyond pep rallies. You’ll see kids wearing spirit hoodies to class and parents wearing matching colors at pickup, while several families buy new designs as soon as the school releases another batch. The sheer amount of updated designs each year makes older pieces outdated much faster than people expect.
Sure, you might like to imagine that one sweatshirt would last years, but the truth is that it’ll probably only be in season for a couple of months. Many households end up ordering a bunch of different items to make sure the kids don’t repeat too often during spirit weeks. Should school pride really cost this much?
Buying a round at the bar
A night out with friends tends to start quite simply. However, the moment that someone says that they have the round sorted, everything about the night changes because the next person feels like they have a duty to return the favor. It doesn’t matter that a few people would’ve stopped earlier. Now, the rule is that you have to pay your fair share.
It’s even worse when you consider that being in a group encourages people to choose pricier cocktails or larger orders. After all, nobody wants to seem cheap while they’re covering everyone else. It causes the tabs to grow much faster than expected.
Holiday photo card culture
Something as simple as a holiday card has become practically its own kind of mini production. These days, a quick snapshot isn’t enough, and many families book photo sessions while also making sure to coordinate outfits. Then there’s the card design itself. Most of the time, these include foil lettering & thicker paper to make the card really stand out.
A few families will also pay for faster shipping so that they can make sure their cards arrive before everyone else’s, and it’s normal to feel under pressure to make your card outshine everyone else’s. Every small upgrade each year keeps raising the total.
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