While you can’t choose your family, you can certainly choose your friends, and experts have found that who you spend your time with directly affects almost every aspect of your life.
Though it may be surprising, your friends don’t just dictate what you do and how you feel, but also your financial outcomes and possibly even your career.
The Five People You Spend the Most Time With
Jim Rohn is a world famous motivational speaker who has helped people “sculpt life strategies that expanded their imagination of what is possible” for 40 years.
Rohn has always focused on the fundamentals of human behavior, and one of his most famous quotes of all time is simply, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Many of Us Have More than 5 Friends
Of course, this is a simplistic way of looking at the people in our lives, because the truth is that many of us spend significant portions of our time with more than five people.
From coworkers to best friends, acquaintances, family members, and neighbors, the majority of us are surrounded by a wide variety of people. But they all affect us and how we spend our time, energy, and especially money.
The People Around You Affect Your Wealth
There are several ways in which the people you surround yourself with directly affect your finances. Some are quite obvious, while others may surprise you.
First and foremost, the spending habits of your friends absolutely plays a role in determining how much you spend on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis.
Friends Who Spend
Some people like to spend their money on luxury getaways, expensive dinners, and lavish gifts. And as most of us know from experience, with friends like that, it’s incredibly challenging to save money, as it always feels like there is another birthday, vacation, or dinner out on the books.
Therefore, if you spend your time around big spenders, no matter what your income is, it’s incredibly likely that you will struggle to save anything at all.
Friends Who Save
On the other hand, if your group of friends prefers hanging on the couch rather than dancing at the club, you are far more likely to see slight or even significant increases in your savings account.
Game nights, pot lucks, backyard BBQs, and at home viewing parties are all great ways to ensure you and your friends save instead of spending every weekend.
Everyone Talks About Money
While it’s typically taboo to ask someone what they make or how much they’ve saved, that doesn’t always apply to close friends. In fact, many friends share their financial situation with others, whether they are proud of what they’ve saved or because they are stressed about their spending habits.
Those conversations about savings absolutely affect us. A person who constantly hears that their friend is saving every month will be encouraged to do the same. But the idea that “money comes, money goes” is also contagious.
Keeping Up With the Joneses
Of course, there are some people who never talk about their finances, such as your next door neighbors. But that doesn’t mean their spending isn’t affecting yours.
If your acquaintances or neighbors are buying a new car, remodeling their home, going away on vacation, or really making any choice to spend, it will consciously or subconsciously encourage you to do the same.
Emotional Spending Is a Very Real Thing
In another way, who you spend your time with affects your financial standing because emotional spending is a very real thing.
When people are upset, tired, overwhelmed, or feeling under appreciated, they are far more likely to go on a spending spree. So, being around people that make you feel safe and supported will actually help you save money over time.
Coworkers Can Absolutely Affect Your Financials
The majority of people spend at least 40 hours at work per week, if not more. And as there are only 112 waking hours in a week, that means more than a third of your time is spent with your coworkers.
In the same way as friends and neighbors, what you and your coworkers talk about, what you do together, and how they choose to spend their money will impact your decisions, too.
The People Around You Can Even Play a Role in Your Career
Along with affecting your spending, the people you spend the most time with, and especially your coworkers, can play a significant role in your career.
If the people in your life are ambitious and driven, that will encourage you to go for that promotion. But if they aren’t motivated to move up in their careers, you may not be either.
Surround Yourself With the Right People
This idea that people significantly affect your life can be found in television, movies, books, and all over social media. And most of us have noticed at least some ways in which friends affect our lives in a tangible way.
However, many people don’t realize that these relationships also directly correlate to financial outcomes. Therefore, for your personal happiness, as well as your savings account, it’s crucial to surround yourself with the right people.
