Re: Keeping Up With The Jones'

Posted by CSK

Posted by EandF

Posted by IVFmiracle

There will always be someone who has more than you and someone who wishes for what you have.
Don't take what you have for granted.

I love this. So true.

OP - I hear you. We live a couple of towns apart so I imagine we see/deal with a lot of the same stuff. It's hard. I work full time and do as much as I can for them both time-wise and materially. There are a few moms that I always wonder how they do it all. A while back, I spoke to one of them and she said she barely had her ish together! It made me realize, like others have said, you never know what's going on in someone's life and may be completely different than what you imagine. All that matters is the health and happiness of my own family.

Finally someone on here who actually feels it a little. It seems everyone else is immune to any of those sorts of feelings

I don't need to show off to people that I drive X car or took Y vacation etc. However, I certainly see other people doing this vacation, buying this car, eating out, having a stay at home spouse or for that matter spending the weekend watching TV or just bumming around for an afternoon and I do have pangs of jealousy.
We're a 2 working parent household and seem to keep it together barely by the skin of our teeth whether it be financially or just getting through the week. We seem to spend our time just "getting through the week" rush to get our son up in the morning to grandparents house to get him to school, rush to get home to get him through bath, dinner, bed, collapse and do it again.

Re: Keeping Up With The Jones'

Posted by CSK

Posted by EandF

Posted by IVFmiracle

There will always be someone who has more than you and someone who wishes for what you have.
Don't take what you have for granted.

I love this. So true.

OP - I hear you. We live a couple of towns apart so I imagine we see/deal with a lot of the same stuff. It's hard. I work full time and do as much as I can for them both time-wise and materially. There are a few moms that I always wonder how they do it all. A while back, I spoke to one of them and she said she barely had her ish together! It made me realize, like others have said, you never know what's going on in someone's life and may be completely different than what you imagine. All that matters is the health and happiness of my own family.

Finally someone on here who actually feels it a little. It seems everyone else is immune to any of those sorts of feelings

I don't need to show off to people that I drive X car or took Y vacation etc. However, I certainly see other people doing this vacation, buying this car, eating out, having a stay at home spouse or for that matter spending the weekend watching TV or just bumming around for an afternoon and I do have pangs of jealousy.
We're a 2 working parent household and seem to keep it together barely by the skin of our teeth whether it be financially or just getting through the week. We seem to spend our time just "getting through the week" rush to get our son up in the morning to grandparents house to get him to school, rush to get home to get him through bath, dinner, bed, collapse and do it again.

Re: Keeping Up With The Jones'

Not everything is as crystal clear as we think it is.
You just never know how so people have things like cars and vacations. Many times they have family that help out and it looks like they might have a ton of money when they don't.

Keeping Up With The Jones'

As I get older I think I feel more envy of those that have so much and it appears to come easy for them. We are a 2 parent working household with 2 DDs and while we do ok, we do not have a lot extra to splurge on things freely. I live in a middle working class queens area so keeping up the Jones' isn't a huge thing around me. However our close circle of friends that DH grew up with all have so much, it hard to not to compare! I definitely feel frustrated that even though we work hard and do OK we have to plan and budget for most big things. I would love to shop without thinking of cost, treat us to nice things, buy a new car, take extra vacations ect... I try to remind myself that we have more then others, so while things could be better, they could also be much worse.

Re: Keeping Up With The Jones'

When I start to feel like I am missing out, I try to focus on being grateful for what I have and focus less on what I wish I had. With my kids, it gets harder as they get older. As babies/toddlers they were not as aware of what their friends had, did or where they went. Now that my kids are older and in school, I won’t lie, it breaks my heart a little when they ask why we never go to Disney, why we never fly on a plane, why don’t we have an ipad, wii, giant tv, yada yada yada. My reply to them is always the same-focus on being grateful for all the things we have and they are fine with it for now. I also talk to them about money, so they are aware some things are very expensive and some things are affordable, wants vs needs, etc.

Keeping Up With The Jones'

I don't. I do what I want to do and what I like doing. The thing is everyone's priorities and motive's are different. Some people truly enjoy and value huge parties, brand names, etc and it makes them happy and. Everything you do should be about adding joy to your life your family's not because someone else is doing it. You have to define and create your own happiness. It's not one size fits all.

Re: Keeping Up With The Jones'

Posted by J9-13

I just can't! I refuse to be a prisoner to my children's social lives. LOL. I work FT as does DH. It's hard enough to find time to fold laundry. I don't want to stress about what people will think if my kids don't go a a Birthday party or aren't enrolled in soccer, softball, gymnastics and cheerleading!
JUST SAY NO!

Re: Keeping Up With The Jones'