Generations & Culture
The Comparison Game
Video player coming at launch
About this episode
What it's about
You're not poorer than your parents were. You're not even poorer than your friends. You're comparing your actual life to a curated highlight reel — and the gap between the two is where modern financial resentment lives. Emme and David explore why every milestone you reach immediately becomes the new normal.
Relative deprivationUpward social comparisonShifting reference points
In this episode
What we cover
- Upward social comparison and what Instagram does to financial wellbeing
- Shifting reference points — the milestone trap
- Relative Deprivation theory: the gap is the wound, not the lack
- Why "old money" doesn't post — and what that does to those who do
- Choosing your reference points instead of inheriting them
Where to start
Discover your Money Persona
Take our free 3-minute quiz to find out which emotional money pattern drives your decisions.
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