Financial Voyeurism
It is extremely common for people to want to keep up with their neighbors, coworkers, and friends. From their income, to the house they live in, the vacations they take, and the cars they drive. More recently this need to keep up has extended to their net worth as well. While emphasizing net worth is far more productive than emphasizing material possessions, the recent trend is nontheless, disconcerting. In addition, the recent trend has not displaced the emphasis on income and material possessions; it has just added another pressure. And the information age has provided new ways of comparing ourselves to our cohort.
Instead of coveting the new lawnmower our neighbor bought, we can now compare our income, wealth, and possessions with those all over the nation (and world, should we desire). For example, the other day one of my wife’s coworkers wanted to know the address of the new home we are building. He was hoping to plug in the address into an online database, such as zillow.com and find out how much we paid. While the information has always been public, it was not worth the time (or presumably the awkward confrontation later) to look up the records. Now, with easy access to information and a thirst for a better understanding of where we stand, we can compare ourselves to our neighbors, coworkers, and friends without their knowledge or permission.
For another example, many financial blogs are more than willing to share their net worth, including all assets and debts. Many also share their net income. I understand how it can be intriguing to view someone else’s financial condition; it’s a form of financial voyeurism. But I will not join this trend - I will not share our financial information over my blog for the following reasons:
(1) Besides our basic curiosity and a thirst for information, there is no financial knowledge imparted from knowing what someone else has accumulated. I can tell of all of the financial moves I have made that have been successful without giving numbers.
(2) It is private and I would rather keep the details to my family.
(3) It encourages people to think about their short-term wealth goals. If you track your net worth on a daily basis, you will be more likely to put more emphasis on the short-run. This could lead to trying to decrease daily fluctuations instead of building long-term value. Instead of investing, it could lead to trading more and an increase in “investing” in cash.
(4) I would feel less safe putting my financial information on the web.
I assume some financial bloggers report their financial information to encourage themselves to save. If they are being watched, they are more likely to perform. I, on the other hand, am cheap enough as it is. (I like the word “frugal” better, but those who know me best think “cheap” is more accurate.)
With so much more information at our fingertips, it is easy to get caught up in who is making what, who has what house, and who is worth how much. I will be the first to admit that I am just as curious as the next guy — I buy the Forbes list of Billionairs magazine each year, I watch shows about houses I could only dream about affording, and I want to go to zillow.com to check out how much other people spent on their homes. But, I don’t gain any knowledge from satisfying this curiosity. So, I will not be adding any new information to this financial voyeurism and I will give my neighbors, friends, and coworkers their privacy, unless they choose to tell me their finances.
