부의 환상: 소비주의와 행복에 대한 이해

### 가난해 보이는 것의 가치: 외모보다 부를 우선시하기
* 💰 "오늘날 많은 사람들이 다른 사람들에게 잘 보이기 위해 부자인 척하며 빚을 지고 있지만, 실제로는 **파산 상태**입니다."
* 👖 가장 부유한 사람들은 종종 겸손하고 소탈한 모습으로 **진정한 부는 과시할 필요가 없다**는 것을 보여 줍니다.
* 💸 소비주의와 명품 브랜드는 종종 진정한 성공과 자존감을 대신하는 역할을 하기 때문에 **'멍청한 돈 낭비'**라는 비판을 받습니다.
* 👜 디자이너 브랜드는 지위에 따라 프리미엄을 부과하지만, **로고에 의존하지 않는 고품질의 대체품을 저렴한 가격**에 이용할 수 있습니다.
* 🚗 존 메이어와 같은 유명인의 사례에서 볼 수 있듯이 명품을 즐기는 것은 **타인에게 깊은 인상을 남기고자 하는 욕구**보다는 개인적인 만족감에서 비롯되어야 합니다.
* 🛡 특히 데이터 유출이 증가함에 따라 개인 데이터를 보호하는 것은 매우 중요하며, **Incog와 같은 서비스는 데이터 브로커로부터 사용자의 정보를 삭제**하는 데 도움을 줄 수 있습니다.
* 🌟 돈은 부를 과시하는 수단이 아니라 선택과 경험을 위한 도구로 여겨야 하며, **물질적 재화보다 경험을 우선시하는 것**이 더 큰 행복으로 이어집니다.
* 👫 함께 나누는 경험과 소소한 즐거움에 돈을 쓰면 **즐거움이 배가**되고, **이벤트를 기대**하면 이벤트 자체보다 더 큰 행복을 얻을 수 있습니다.

그레이엄은 진정한 부는 사치나 지위를 과시하는 것이 아니라 옵션에 있다고 강조합니다.

what's up you guys, it's Graham here. And in the last few months, you might have come across one of these videos: the importance of looking poor. After all, when you really dig into it, it is insane how many people these days are pretending to be rich, digging themselves deep in debt for the sake of trying to impress others and giving the illusion of success when in person they're absolutely broke. In fact, there's a very specific reason why some of the wealthiest people are often the most unassuming, who don't stand out, who blend in with the crowd, who look like just another average Joe, even though they have tens of millions of dollars in their bank account. That's why it's so important that we expose the truth, discuss the red flags that most people are completely oblivious about, and then break down the four habits that's not only going to save you a lot of money but also make you a lot of money. Because as soon as you start focusing on building wealth and not looking wealthy, I promise your entire life is going to

change so here is exactly what you need to know, and also a big thank you to Incog for sponsoring today's video, but more on that later. First, here's my controversial opinion: I think consumerism, designer brands, and luxury goods are a dumb waste of money. In most cases, a logo is used as a substitute to showcase success, wealth, and values, to be able to earn the respect of others. I think subconsciously, if we really dig into it, giant designer logos signal that you have discretionary income to spend. If you have discretionary income to spend, therefore you must be wealthy, and if you're wealthy, you must be someone of importance and value, even though the two shouldn't have any correlation whatsoever. But people fall for it. And no, before I get the haters saying, But Graham, designer brands last so much longer, and they're much better quality than fast fashion. Yeah, there is an element to that which is true. Designer brands are much higher quality than that of, let's say, H&M. But if quality is

really what you're after and not the logo. Why not opt for a brand like Aelan, which is arguably much higher quality than other name brand designers for half the cost? Or brands like Alden, again high-quality craftsmanship but a few hundred dollars less expensive? Or is it because people can't tell that you spent $500 on a pair of shoes? Look, the reason why brands like Gucci press so hard and charge so much money while prominently displaying their logos everywhere is because they're what's known as an aspirational brand, which according to Wikipedia is a brand that a large segment of its exposure audience wishes to own but for economic reasons cannot. The premise of this type of marketing is that the purchase decisions are made at an emotional level to enhance self-concept. Essentially, designer brands, luxury goods, and loud fashion charges a premium for status. It's a very expensive and very difficult way to show off, and the type of person who needs to show off is likely the same person who's having a difficult time conveying value.

to others, or they feel better about themselves to be able to have something that other people can't. Now, obviously, I'm making some sweeping generalizations here that do not apply to every single person who's ever bought designer clothing with a prominent logo because people exist who genuinely like the fashion. They are doing it for themselves, and they're not trying to show off to anybody. They just like it for them. But with that said, I do find it very interesting that the upper echelon luxury brands rarely ever have large logos on them. They're very discreet, they're insanely expensive, and the type of people spending $950 for a pair of nylon shorts are usually the ones who don't want or need to show off to others. Like, here's a $350 t-shirt, not a logo in sight, and no one has any clue that you've just spent almost $400 with tax. As most of their clothing flies completely under the radar, or you could buy this and everyone knows you've spent

at least $500 if it isn't fake. Even though this sounds like I might be hating on luxury brands, at the core, to me, this is just a case of prioritizing why you want something, what value a certain item brings you, and if you're doing it for yourself or if you're doing it because other people associate a positive meaning to it and therefore to you by extension. This is why a Lamborghini Urus is able to charge you over $300,000 when an Audi RS Q8 is an identical, if not superior, car for half the price. To me, all that matters is that you genuinely are enjoying what you buy and that you're not doing it for the wrong reasons, to impress others, to fill a void, or because that's what other successful people are buying. If you truly enjoy spending money in a category because that's what you like, regardless of what other people think, including myself, go for it. But there is a fine line between having a deep respect for a brand and using it as a way to

compensate for a lack of external validation. John Mayer, I think, is a great example of this. He has a very extensive watch collection worth an excess of $10 million, but when he speaks, you can tell he deeply appreciates the craftsmanship, history, and story that comes with every timepiece. He's doing it for himself because he likes it. Compare that to someone else who might drop half their salary on a watch because all of a sudden it became super trendy, or John Mayer likes it, so I got to like it too. Anyway, my point being is that anytime I want something, I really have to think to myself, Do I want it because I genuinely want it, or do I want it because other people want it, and I think I want it because of that? Really, at the end of the day, if the purchase is to buy validation or is coming from a place of insecurity, it's not worth it. If it's to show off, it's not worth it. If you're paying extra for a logo to advertise to other people, it's

probably best to reconsider if that's something you want to be aligned with, or if there's something else that would provide you better, more long-lasting value instead. And when it comes to that, along with subscribing and hitting the like button if you haven't done that already, I have some rather strong feelings. Here's the thing: even though money isn't everything, the reality is it can solve a lot of problems. For example, data breaches are rising, with the number of victims having increased over 41% since 2021. And if you don't think it'll happen to you, think again. Whether you like it or not, your personal information is most likely floating around on the internet somewhere, in the hands of third parties, data brokers, spammers, and other people who may want to target you. In terms of what they have, that could be your full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, phone numbers, email addresses; the list goes on. Now, even though this sounds like an alarming problem, the good news is that you have a right to protect your privacy.

and request the data Brokers delete the information they have about you. Our sponsor, Incog, helps you do exactly that. They do all the dirty work for you by reaching out to data Brokers on your behalf, requesting your personal data be removed, and dealing with any objections that websites or data Brokers might have. And since many data Brokers continue collecting information even after they've removed it, Incog makes sure your information stays off the market by conducting repeated removal requests. All you have to do is create an account, grant them the right to work for you, and sit back while they keep you updated every step of the way. Unfortunately, it just seems like websites experience data breaches on a regular basis, and being able to cut down on spam phone calls, emails, and phishing attempts is priceless. Not to mention, if you don't make an active effort to remove your information, it's just going to keep happening. So if you're interested in having your personal data taken down, you could get 60% off their annual plan when you go to

incognito /gr and use the code Graham. They also have a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can always try it risk-free to see if you like it. Again, the link is down below in the description, or you could go to incognito.com and sign up today. Thank you so much, and now let's get back to the video. All right, so in terms of this looking poor topic, here's what I realized. Like I mentioned earlier, money is at the core just a tool. There are good ways to use it and bad ways to use it. Like you wouldn't use a fork to go and dig a hole, so why would you use money for anything other than what it's really good at? Well, what it's really good at is not giving you confidence, is not making you fulfilled, and it isn't fulfilling a sense of superiority. Instead, it's just really good at giving you options. More money gives you the option to pursue whatever you enjoy the most. It gives you the option to be able to stay up late or

sleep in if that's how you feel. It gives you the option to spend your day however you want. So, if you spend your discretionary income on anything other than something that's giving you more options, you are in effect wasting it. Like when it comes to myself, I see money as a way to say yes to the things that I thoroughly enjoy. I have the flexibility to pursue what I find the most meaningful. I could say no to something if it doesn't align with my goals, and that in turn allows me to focus more on what I do enjoy, which oddly enough, as a byproduct, I wind up making more money because I just really love every single day that I'm doing what I enjoy. None of that would have been possible, by the way, if I didn't aggressively save when I was younger, again for the purpose of eventually one day being able to buy options. As an example of this, I saved pretty much all my money working part-time throughout high school. That eventually wound up floating the beginning of my real estate agent career.

because that's what I wanted to do. From there, I saved up nearly all of my money to be able to purchase my first rental property, to be able to earn some residual income, even if I didn't make a sale. After that, I continued saving as much as I could so that I could spend my evenings making YouTube videos instead of expanding my career in real estate, even when YouTube wasn't making any money. Of course, that never would have been possible had I built a lifestyle of high overhead, excessive spending, and luxury that I never needed in the first place. That kept me tied down because that's not the most effective tool for money to be used for. And by living extremely frugally, the lifestyle of choice became possible. I just felt like buying designer clothes is not going to give me more freedom. Blowing money every weekend is not going to give me more optionality. And living lavishly is not going to make me any happier than I already am. On top of that, I suppose one of the biggest eye-openers is that the

real enjoyment doesn't come from buying things. It's purely from the option to buy something if you really want it. I tend to think that once you have enough money to be able to reasonably afford just about anything you'd want to buy, the desire to buy a lot of those things just goes away. There's nothing to prove, there's no one to impress, there's no reason to show off, there's nothing you need to show externally. It just seems not as desirable as it once was when you couldn't afford. My experience has been beyond the basics of food, shelter, and healthcare. The option to do something is really all you need, and your priorities begin to shift away from buying stuff for the sake of buying stuff to prioritizing your time, family, health, and doing what you just want to do. And look, don't get the wrong idea. It is perfectly fine to buy things or splurge on an extravagant luxury item. I mean, gosh, I got the Ford GT because I like the car and thought it would be a good

investment, but you're never going to find me driving this thing to the club or down in the Las Vegas trip revving the engine. I bought it purely because I respect the history of what this car represents. Even though on YouTube, Lamborghinis are way better for getting views and more eyeballs, or I guess even the previous home I bought visually, it's no different from something that costs $300,000 in the Midwest, but it was in a great location, and I could walk to a lot of things. Not to mention psychologically, there are ways that you could spend your money to increase your happiness or quality of life. Like according to the Journal of Consumer Psychology, just follow this if you want to use your money effectively. First, spend your money on experiences and not things. It was found that the effect of buying material things quickly fades over time, but experiences are something that our minds can continually look back on, bringing us continued positive emotions. Not only that, but we're more likely to recall experiences of how we felt and not what

we bought, and that has a more longstanding impact on how we feel. Alternatively, you could also find ways to do things and spend money to get the exact same experience for a fraction of the price. Like, instead of spending $800 for plane tickets to go to Japan, you could open up a credit card, get a sign-up bonus, and then all of a sudden get the flights and hotel for free. Second, it helps to spend money with people. There was a study in which people were given money and then tracked in terms of how they spent it, either on themselves or with other people. Not surprisingly, the group that spent their money with other people reported much higher levels of enjoyment and self-esteem than the ones that spent it on themselves. Really, anything we do that improves our connections with others is also going to make us a lot happier. Third, it also helps to spend frequently on small things rather than infrequently on large things. The reality is our minds have an ability to adjust to even the best experiences money could buy, and

then all of a sudden, that becomes normal, and it takes even more extravagance to feel the same way. However, it was found that our mind is much less likely to adapt to a variety of small purchases instead of a big one because the small purchases are less likely to be the exact same every single time. That going out to dinner with friends or going and seeing a movie is going to be different every time you do it, but the Gucci belt is still going to be the exact same Gucci belt. And finally, fourth, it's really important to enjoy the process along the way. Research has shown that people derive an incredible amount of enjoyment and happiness from anticipating an event, sometimes even more than the event itself. It's kind of like going on a one-day vacation right now with no notice or doing that same vacation next weekend plus getting all the enjoyment to being able to look forward to it. In these cases, looking forward to an event brings more enjoyment than being able to look back on it. That's why these days I'm only going to

spend my money on things that are important to me and never for something to try to seek the approval of others. As some random examples of this, that might include buying extra leg room on the airplane, trying out a new flavor of protein powder to use in my coffee instead of using coffee creamer, which by the way, you got to try, is very good, getting healthier foods at the grocery store, upgrading my gym membership to something that's slightly nicer, treating friends when we're out at dinner, or even just spending an extra day in a location when we're traveling for the podcast just to be able to see something new. So hopefully, if you follow these suggestions and think very carefully about where you allocate your money, you're going to get a lot further from it. You'll get a lot more enjoyment, and hopefully, in the future, you'll get a lot more options. Like I've said, money's not for the purpose of looking rich or flaunting. It's not to fill any efficiencies or voids in your life, and it's not meant to be a Band-Aid to cover

up something that's lacking. Otherwise, the richest people in the world would be the happiest, and that's obviously not the case. So, with that said, you guys, thank you so much for watching. As always, remember to subscribe, hit the like button if you haven't done that already. Thank you so much, and until next time.

Why “Looking Poor” Is Important

As a 30 year old real estate agent and investor who started working in real estate shortly after turning 18, with over $120,000,000 in residential real estate sales since 2008, I've created this channel to share my successes, failures, and experiences in the real estate industry and to support others who are thinking of getting into the business. Oh, and I'm also obsessed with cars. A lot. So expect to see some cars uploaded to my channel. A lot. And Subscribe. Because all the cool kids are doing it.  

Feel free to follow me on Snapchat / Instagram: GPStephan

Graham Stephan

많은 사람들이 부자인 척하며 다른 사람들에게 잘 보이기 위해 빚을 지고 있는 반면, 가장 부유한 사람들은 종종 겸손한 모습을 보이기도 합니다.

소비주의와 명품 브랜드는 부와 성공을 상징하는 로고를 사용하기 때문에 돈 낭비라는 비판을 받습니다.

디자이너 브랜드 대신 고품질의 저렴한 대안을 선택하는 것이 더 현명한 재정적 선택이 될 수 있습니다.

명품 브랜드는 눈에 잘 띄지 않는 로고와 높은 가격표를 달고 있어 과시할 필요가 없는 고객을 끌어들이는 경우가 많습니다.

물건의 가치는 외부의 검증을 구하는 것이 아니라 진정한 즐거움에서 비롯되어야 합니다.

개인적인 만족을 위해 원하는 것과 다른 사람에게 감동을 주기 위해 원하는 것을 구분하는 것이 중요합니다.

2021년 이후 피해자가 41% 이상 증가하는 등 데이터 유출이 증가하고 있으며, 개인 정보가 온라인에 노출되는 경우가 많습니다.

Incog는 브로커에게 개인 데이터 삭제를 요청하고 반복적으로 삭제 요청을 수행하여 정보가 시장에 유출되지 않도록 하는 솔루션을 제공합니다.

이 서비스는 연간 요금제에서 60% 할인과 30일 환불 보장을 제공하므로 위험 부담 없이 개인 데이터를 보호할 수 있는 옵션입니다.

돈은 과도한 소비를 위한 수단이 아니라 선택의 폭을 넓히고 자신이 좋아하는 것을 추구하기 위한 도구로 여겨야 합니다.

젊은 시절의 적극적인 저축은 더 큰 유연성과 의미 있는 기회에 투자할 수 있는 능력으로 이어질 수 있습니다.

진정한 즐거움은 구매 행위 자체가 아니라 구매할 수 있는 선택권을 갖는 것에서 비롯되며, 물질적 소유보다 시간, 가족, 개인적인 성취를 우선시하는 것이 더 중요해집니다.

행복을 위한 지출: 효과적인 전략

물질적인 것보다는 경험에 투자하면 긍정적인 감정과 행복이 오래 지속됩니다.

다른 사람들과 함께 돈을 쓰면 즐거움과 자존감이 향상되고, 소소한 구매를 자주 하면 다양한 경험을 할 수 있어 적응에 도움이 됩니다.

마지막으로, 이벤트를 기대하는 것은 이벤트 자체보다 더 큰 기쁨을 가져다줄 수 있으므로 이벤트를 계획하고 기대하는 과정도 마찬가지로 중요합니다.

다른 사람의 승인을 구하기보다는 자신에게 진정으로 중요한 일에 돈을 쓰는 것이 중요합니다.

예를 들어 여행 경험을 업그레이드하거나, 새로운 음식을 시도하거나, 더 건강한 선택에 투자하는 것 등이 있습니다.

돈으로 공허함을 채우거나 부를 과시하기보다는 즐거움을 찾고 자신을 위한 더 많은 선택지를 만드는 것이 목표입니다.