Recently I was involved in a rear ending accident.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a bad accident, I drive a truck so my bumper was messed up but perfectly drivable.
The guy that hit me (thankfully) accepted responsibility and his insurance is paying for my repairs.
I currently drive a 2019 Chevy Colorado LT with about 94k miles on it, and besides some maintenance and repairs, it’s been a great truck. Barebones, has CarPlay, but the only real ‘tech’ in the vehicle, besides a backup camera.
I love it, I’m a truck guy (yes gas mileage sucks, but I use the bed almost every day for all kinds of things)
My rental however, is much newer. A 2027 jeep wrangler rubicon (fully loaded). It has wireless CarPlay, heated mirrors, heated seats, heated steering wheel, etc.
I hate saying it, but I feel inadequate.
I mean hell recently, I got my insurance decreased by 65 dollars! From 231 to 169! I’m so happy about that.
But I’m still salivating at the 2023 - 2026 Colorado’s with more tech, etc.
The ones I’m looking at have everything I want. Remote start, heated steering wheel, heated seats, etc.
I’ve only had my truck since 2024 and I know I shouldn’t want it for a while, it makes me sound so materialistic.
But this rental is driving me insane.
Can I afford it now? No way. I need to pay off my truck, some CC from my time being unemployed, and my student loans.
I’m currently committing 500 minimum (1k on a good month) per month to pay off my debt, and it will still take a while.
I’ve gotten better buying clothes and food by limiting it to only necessities and trying cash only for paying for food and eating a max of 1 time per week.
Will I be able to afford it? Yes, but I’ll have to save up, and pay off my truck first to do things smart.
I just don’t know how to get a handle on my consumerist urges, while still giving myself things I genuinely enjoy and like, but through delayed gratification to ensure I really like what I’m buying and not keeping up with the Joneses.
I know it comes from insecurity and wanting to show that ‘I made it’, it sounds stupid, but it’s been really tough for me mentally, as I feel like a failure that I can’t afford these things at my age (27).
I should be proud of myself, I have a car, am able to live with my parents while paying down debt (only helping out with groceries and chores), have a bachelors, masters, and work a great job in cybersecurity making $30 an hour.
I grew up in TN living in a trailer, close to the poverty line, but was blessed to move to the NE, get a good education, parents with stable jobs, and was able to enjoy my childhood. I grew up in Westchester NY. Coming from eastern TN, it was very different. Here, it seems everyone was filthy rich: huge houses/mansions, always had the newest iPhones, going on lavish vacations, brand new cars at school, hell some kids drove mclarens to school at points. I think I’ve always tried to keep up with these people. I’ve gotten better, but the feelings of inadequacy still affect me.
I should be happy, but I’m not, I know I’m looking for happiness and validation through things, I’ve always done this.
I still want these things, like a new truck, clothes, etc. but I want to be smart about it. I know what the correct decisions are, but that feeling of FOMO/inadequacy/jealousy/envy is killing me.
Any advice on this would be great. I would like to be better and adopt a new mindset.
TLDR: Struggling sticking to delayed gratification to ‘keep up with the Joneses’