On a quiet Sunday morning in a small town known more for its dosa stalls than designer stores, Ravi stood at the edge of the local electronics showroom. He wasn’t planning to buy a new phone, but somehow, he’d ended up here—scrolling through glossy models and comparing specs he barely understood. Last week, his cousin posted a photo with the latest model. That little picture had triggered something he couldn’t quite explain.
Ravi grew up in a modest home. His father was a
schoolteacher, and his mother ran a home-based tailoring service. Money was
tight, but never absent. He remembered how carefully his mother would wrap the
school fee money in newspaper and tuck it inside her steel almirah. “We don’t
spend to show others,” she often said. But now, standing under the showroom’s
LED lights, Ravi wondered if that wisdom still held true.
What Ravi didn’t realize was that childhood
experiences silently shape our financial personalities. Those who grow up
watching financial stability may treat money with confidence, while
others—exposed to uncertainty—might either cling to every rupee or spend
impulsively, trying to escape memories of ‘not having enough.’
The moment Ravi finally picked up the phone he wasn’t
going to buy, his heart beat faster. A small voice whispered, “Just swipe
the card, you deserve it.” That’s the lure of instant gratification—the
psychological pull to feel good now, even if it means sacrificing future
savings. The new phone promised validation, if only briefly.
Add to that the ever-present world of social
media. Even in smaller towns, platforms have blurred class boundaries. You see
a neighbor flaunting a vacation or a colleague with a smartwatch, and suddenly,
you're spending not for yourself, but to match an invisible scoreboard. This is
social comparison in action—one of the most underestimated forces
driving spending in today’s connected age.
Ironically, Ravi hadn’t come here on his own. A
targeted ad had popped up on his screen three days ago, showing the very model
he was now holding. This wasn’t chance—it was the result of smart algorithms
and advertising psychology, trained to detect desires before we do.
Knowing this, however, can be liberating. Awareness brings power.
Before completing the payment, Ravi paused. He
remembered how stressed he’d been about his EMIs just last month. That’s when financial
stress often leads to emotional spending—as a form of relief, a way to feel
‘in control’ amidst the chaos.
He took a deep breath. “Maybe not today,” he
told the salesman and walked out, surprisingly lighter without the phone in his
pocket.
Money decisions aren’t always logical. They’re
woven with memory, emotion, identity, and even peer pressure. But when we
understand the forces at play, we stand a better chance at making choices we
won’t regret.
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