Ballers! A lot of people hold themselves to a certain standard around friends, family, strangers, and so on. There tends to be a competition with the self to act and be perceived a certain way. Whether you are trying to appear nice, wealthy, funny, or even detached, you are in performance mode at one point or another, and you shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about it!
Unfortunately, there is a stigma called “Keeping up with the Jones’” referring to the competition with the self and others to appear a certain way. While it doesn’t make sense a lot of the time to throw yourself into the never-ending hole of one-upping the next person or thing, there is a time and place to appear “rich,” such as in business, among certain elite groups, etc. The human tendency is to want to belong to a community, so here’s one of the ways you can fake it until you make it into the world of wealth: drive nice cars, wear nice clothes, and be thrifty about it!
Cars are a seller
That’s right, a person’s car or ride tells a lot about them. Can you imagine showing up for a date and the person (male or female) shows up on a Harley Davidson? Now picture them showing up in a Subaru. A Mercedes? All vehicles are associated with different groups with varying interests and, definitely, financial status.
The good news is you don’t have to spend a mortgage on your car to get this appearance! No one is going to know that you drive a second-hand BMW unless you spoil it for yourself.
This is why it’s important to get thrifty in your first shots at being welcomed into an elite community. As long as the car doesn’t scream junkyard and you do your best to maintain it, you are going to make friends faster than if it did.
Clothes contribute to a wealthy image
Now imagine your date who pulled up in a Mercedes gets out of the car in baggy sweatpants with burn holes, a stained white tee (is that coffee?), and bedhead. Not to say that people who drive Mercedes don’t have emergency runs to the pharmacy, but they definitely shouldn’t be showing up like that on their first date! And vice versa.
You don’t want to show up to a business event in attire that gives you an image of insanity, laziness, not having your act together. You want to show up in style if being welcomed is truly your goal! The occasion calls for different types of attire, but thrifting a fresh suit, some button-downs or dresses, and shiny shoes is completely possible. And thrifting it instead of buying new will save you a lot of money in your attempts to be noticed and appreciated! Again, don’t throw yourself under the bus by drunkenly sharing you got your jacket at Goodwill. Depending on the situation, you may also consider having your new finds dry cleaned or iron it yourself to bring it back from the thrift bins!
Thrifting
Although you may know thrifting to be a great idea, not everyone sees it as such. Especially in luxury community mindsets, buying something used, regardless of what it is, is equivalent to wearing used, dirty underwear that’s not yours.
Maybe it’s because they don’t do their laundry or don’t ever wear the same clothes twice, it can be hard for a rich person to see the value in something that didn’t start as theirs. But you can! And you should if it’s your only shot at making it in business or community!
