What is Influencing Your Spending?

[Chett]

This week my wife and I had to wrap up our summer break and begin preparing for the beginning of a new school year. Each year districts bring teachers together to motivate them for the new year, communicate any large changes, and they always bring in a few consultants who speak about issues that are critical in the classroom, or in the lives of students. One of our presenters discussed how kids are influenced today, compared to how they were influenced 50 years ago.

The presenter argued a hierarchy of influence exists on children. She said in the 1950's it looked something like this.

1. Home
2. School
3. Church
4. Peers
5. TV - Media

I wasn't surprised, as I doubt most of you aren't. Times were very traditional. Life was lived in a traditional manner, and the television had just come along in society. No one could imagine the advent of the computer, social networks, or cell phones. Enter the 21st century.

Today, the presenter argued, the hierarchy looks more like this.

1. TV - Media (Computers, Music, Cell phones)
2. Peers
3. School
4. Home
5. Church

What once had the smallest influence on children, today has the most. And home, which used to help set the direction for a child's life, now comes in next to last. How times have changed.

Our discussion over this topic during the session revolved around helping teach character in school and ensuring students receive a positive influence in their school setting. As I drove home from the meeting I wondered though how this applies to adults and our spending decisions. Was there a hierarchy that existed that influenced adults spending decisions 50 years ago? If so, what do you think it looked like? Do you think there is a hierarchy of influence today? If so, how has it changed?

Zig Ziggler once said, "You are what you are because of who is putting things in your mind." While I don't believe outside influence is entirely responsible for who we are, I do think it has a very large influence.

I can make the assumption that 50 years ago the home influenced spending the most. Basic needs were met before anything else. People still had the depression and the sacrifices of the war in their head. This era also brought the advent of the suburbs, so I would assume peers, or neighbors would rank second.

Today I would venture to say the media has the largest influence on our spending. Either television, print ads, email, or online advertising. It seems we let the world tell us what we want before we pay attention to what we really need.

Help me with this. How do you think our influences in our spending have changed? It doesn't have to relate to the five areas above that I discussed about the students. Maybe there are other areas. What influenced our spending 50 years ago and what influences it today?