the goal is to grow your bank account not your ego here's four reasons why keeping a low profile can actually lead to higher rewards number one it frees you from the cycle of permanent dissatisfaction think about your own life every time you hit a milestone whether it's getting a promotion buying a nicer car moving into a better neighborhood a new set of Standards suddenly surrounds you it's like paying a never-ending game where the rules keep changing you buy a great car and for a moment it feels amazing but then you notice your friend's cars even better and that initial Joy Fades this isn't just a feeling it's backed by science researchers call it the honic treadmill and it's exactly what it sounds like imagine you're on a treadmill at a gym no matter how fast you run you stay in the same spot relative to the room the same thing happens with your happiness no matter how much more money you make or how many new things you buy your overall happiness tends to stay the same and there was a study that looked into how people's happiness actually change with their level of income and they found that once we have enough money to cover basic needs like our food shelter Healthcare having more money doesn't make us a lot more happier we quickly adapt to our new level of wealth and this adaptation means that what once felt like a big Improvement soon becomes a new normal and we start wanting even more to regain that initial excitement think about the last time you upgraded your iPhone at first it works really quickly really thrilling to test out the new features but how long does that excitement last soon enough you're already thinking about the next upgrade and the cycle repeats with nearly everything that we buy it's not not just about phones it happens with cars homes clothes and even social status and on top of that social media only magnifies this pressure and a report from Credit Karma revealed that 39% of Brits feel pressured by social media to spend more money to appear successful or happy by choosing to instead look poor You're simply stepping off of that Relentless tread Bill you're saying I'm not buying into this no pun intended and the moment you do that you'll find that the inner peace you get from making that decision and not feeling the need to compete with every single thing will bring you so much more happiness than staying on that treadmill ever will number two we lose Freedom of Choice when I first started working in Investment Banking I definitely fell into the whole keeping up with appearances I wor designer clothes a lot had the latest things bought a nice car that was me and I spent so much of my income on things that made me look successful even though I knew my bank account showed the opposite but no one could see that side on the outside I had it all but in the inside I was stuck in a job I didn't enjoy on this treadmill that we spoke about constantly chasing the next thing I was following the earn money spend it and then expect happiness and freedom to follow fast forward to 2 years ago my spending on luxuries and wants went down to pretty much zero for 6 to9 months I was spending all of my money on education skills learning putting it back into the business and I made a huge shift in my lifestyle for about 2 years which led me to change my style of life forever I focused on building a Financial Security that let me walk away from a six figure bonus and leave a high paying job because it didn't satisfy me I decided to focus on something I love and genuinely have a passion for and it gave me the freedom to travel whenever I wanted I can genuinely tell you having seen both sides that that feeling of Freedom sense of empowerment Liberation and being able to walk away from something that no longer serves you completely beats the Fulfillment that you get from a new item for those couple of years I followed the earn money invest it towards freedom and then spend it on other things if I had any money left over when I talk about spending zero on my wants or my fund category it's because everything was going towards education investing improving my skill set and that's where today's sponsor very nicely Falls in and that is skillshare which is an amazing online platform for learning they have all sorts of classes from entrepreneurship graphic design productivity interior design side hustle ideas and the list goes on and skillshare played a huge part in my growth on YouTube because it was where I went to every time I was trying to learn something specific that I had no background in YouTube was is wildly different to Banking and so I learned how to SCP through it how to shoot how to edit through it and anything else that I'm struggling with someone will usually have a really good class on it and I can learn from that without having to search through hundreds of Google searches and YouTube videos with slower work schedules during the summer period we tend to have more time to explore our passions and hobbies and so right now I'm taking this time by Mimi Chow on how to draw which has been a great way to get my creative juices flowing again if you are one of the first 500 people to click on the link in the video description you get a totally free 30-day trial where you can binge watch as many classes as you want for free thank you so much skillshare for sponsoring this video the third reason why looking poor is important is because it takes you out of survival mode Einstein famously wrote a calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness a study by the American Psychological Association revealed that 72% of Americans feel stressed about their money and a report by the money and pension service in the UK found that 62% of adults feel anxious about their finances with 48% worrying about money at least once a week in today's world a calm and modest life is pretty much Essential for maintaining peace of mind and to reduce the level of anxiety when it comes to your finances if you get a bonus or a pay rise and you get a new car that eats 40% of your take-home pay you cannot afford to lose your job take a break or even consider other opportunities you're stuck in survival mode upgrading one thing often tends to lead to a domino effect of additional expenses as well and Yahoo finance listed car brands buy the maintenance cost over the first 75,000 miles and they found that entry-level Brands like Hyundai Toyota Honda are almost three times cheaper to maintain than luxury bands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz when you upgrade there is a domino effect on all the costs that you have to incur to maintain that item so instead the greater you can get the gap between your income and expenses the more peace of mind you'll have the bigger that Gap the more freedom you have it gives you flexibility to take risks try new things or simply just take time off if you wanted to there is something called the concery method popularized by Marie condo and it's all about only keeping the things that spark Joy by doing this you're not only clearing out your physical clutter but also creates space for greater mental Clarity and emotional well-being you can apply the same philosophy to your finances it's not just about saving money but also about reducing the stress of maintaining this High status lifestyle that puts you in survival mode the thrill of a new purchase often Fades leaving behind the anxiety of keeping up the more things you have the more you're in a cycle of living in survival mode number four the power of Authentic Living a really interesting study found that 25% of Americans admit that they have pursued a romantic relationship purely for the money aspect and over half of those people have misrepresented their financial situation to attract a partner if you base your selfworth on external validations or material things or the amount of money you have you risk attracting people who only value you for superficial traits authenticity is the Cornerstone of lasting relationships and this idea extends Beyond just romantic relationships it applies to how we present ourselves in almost all aspects of our life as the saying goes don't show off the outside of your house show off the inside the outside is what you display to strangers is an attempt to gain their respect and admiration with outward appearances in contrast the inside of your house represents your true self that's what you share with family with close friends it's where your genuine values and characters shine through and in the novel their adolescent the author wrote If I had 100 million I would nevertheless walk around in old clothes because a knowledge of it my consciousness of my wealth would suffice this quote is what the essence of true wealth is it's not about flaunting it but about the inner confidence and the security that it brings and many wealthy individuals understand this they often choose Simplicity over showing they don't make what they own their entire identity because they know that living authentically and valuing what's inside over an outward appearance is a really powerful way to build meaningful resilient relationships those are four reasons why looking poor is important for internal happiness if you like this video you should definitely check out my video right here on four signs that you're doing well financially even if it doesn't feel like it thank you for watching don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already otherwise I'll see you there