Debt is a form of indentured servitude.
When many people hear terms like “drowning in debt,” and “living paycheck to paycheck,” they often think of the working poor. The figure that, because of their poverty, these people have no choice but to live from paycheck to paycheck, or that their financial irresponsibility is why they’re poor in the first place. But what if I told you that the firmly middle and upper-middle class were some of the worst savers and most reckless spenders that you’re ever going to meet?
We live in a consumerist world where money isn’t just a means of survival, but a means of competing and comparing with others. Our societies tell us that the more we have, the more than we should be spending. As a result, student loan and medical debts aren’t the only form of debt that people are accumulating rapidly. Many people have astronomical levels of credit card debit, as well as financially-debilitating mortgage and car payments. So now, in an effort to be seen and externally validated by others, these people are spending more time working to pay off their material status symbols than they are actually enjoying these things, and living their lives. Intentionally taking on debt that you don’t have to in order to flex on others isn’t a flex. The compliments and looks of envy won’t even come close to minimizing the stress, anxiety, and depression that you’ve added to your life.
So ask yourself: Why am I trying to impress people who don’t pay any of my bills?
