A lot of people were asked to complete the sentence ` I use my money to__________` and their answers were in general, alike. People respond with words like get happiness, get things I long for, make life comfortable, give me security and so forth. There is something very interesting one may note. Of all the things that you do with your money, there is something it does with you. Psychologists believe that people use their money to speak about themselves ` who they are, what they want others to see about them, what they value, and what they aspire. Our article is not to judge how you spend. It is rather to give you an insight into how you are spending, and, how it is impacting your life. To make introspection easier, here are some questions to answer: Do you save up for months to buy the expensive brands, and often long for owning them` Do you buy a few extra things when you are out with others, as compared to what you otherwise would` Do you buy things to elevate your spirits, say when you feel low or depressed` Do you buy things which you like, but have very little actual use for` Do you buy things when there is a discount` Do you buy things which will be used later` Are you sometimes in awe of another`s car, and dream of acquiring it` The purpose of the questions above is to bring out some important point to ponder. Why do we crave for an expensive brand` Leave aside the quality and aesthetics. There is surely something we know that possessing it will make us feel. That is not all, we also believe that we cannot feel that goodness through any other means. When in a group we feel hesitant at times, to show our choice to not purchase. In some manner of interpretation, we consider ourselves inadequate as far as affording is concerned. Our generation has somehow come to believe that being frugal is a thing to look down upon. Of course, with the advent of luxury brands and access to a greater disposable income, life and living has changed to spending and acquiring. We fail to take notice that it has distanced us from being in touch with our deeply important things. We know how to be happy instantly, but we have no clue how to remain happy for a long time. Because one may purchase, but one cannot be happy if one does not know how to enjoy and feel satiated. Advertising and marketing lures us to spend our hard earned money on things which are definitely attractive, but sometimes do not fit our lifestyle. We fall prey to their campaign and very often make a self-defeating choice ` we buy things which are not in line with our long term view of life. Imagine having a long term financial commitment that makes a difference to your entire family, and then, being hijacked by display windows which call out for spending and thus throwing us off our plan. We don`t even realize that. However, we quietly postpone the important monetary commitment, as the money gets diverted elsewhere. Expanding the wardrobe is enthusing but let us also consider expanding the bookshelf. Let us instead of expanding our living alone, use part of our efforts to expanding our minds ` reading, learning, and doing new things which add value. It is a compelling thing to have plans to acquire bigger and better. It is simple wisdom and the key to happiness to enjoy what you have. There will always be a bigger car and a better phone than the one you can conveniently afford. But the one you have is the best one for you because it serves your purposes. Unhappiness and dissatisfaction do not originate from big losses alone. It is the day to day living in which we are not at peace with which creates a feeling of emptiness in the long run. And to deal with it, we indulge further more! It has become a common way to define urban spending habits as ` people buy things with the money they do not have to impress the people they do not like!