I never really understood the old adage 'Idle hands are the devils tools' until I took some time off before starting a new job. Finding myself bored and puttering around the house, I found a new hobby: shopping.

Have you seen the movie The Joneses? It’s about a perfectly fake family living a perfectly fake life that they are paid by marketers to promote. The movie is often categorized under the genre of “comedy,” though it is anything but funny. It depicts “real” people getting really hurt in their attempts to keep up with their neighbors. While the tragic results of people trying to attain the unattainable were hard to watch and exaggerated, the movie did serve as a great reminder that we don’t usually see the full picture.

Several years ago when I was working at a communications firm, I had a boss who was about 20 years older than me. One day, I went to her house to pick up some paperwork and found a television crew set up in her kitchen. She explained that the crew was looking for a “typical American kitchen” to use as a set for a breakfast cereal commercial. Seems like using a real kitchen would make the commercial seem more real, right? The problem is that the average value of a home in my former boss’ neighborhood is well over $1 million compared to the existing home median price of $168,800.

Just like the Great and Powerful Oz, marketers don’t want to show reality and we probably don’t want them to either. After all, no one on Earth would want to buy cereal if they had shot the commercial in my dark and tiny one-room apartment’s kitchenette. The danger is when we are so awed by the smoke and mirrors that we forget that there is a man behind the curtain.

The stories told in most commercials are no different than the story told in The Joneses—they are both fiction. The difference is that advertisers really want you to think that what they're selling is better than what you've already got.  Next time you feel yourself Jonesing for something, ask yourself a few questions: What exactly are you trying to purchase? Can you afford it? Does it fit into your financial plan?  What are you willing to sacrifice to get it? After all, some of the smartest minds in personal finance believe that the key to wealth is being satisfied with what you already have. 

This is not a typical American kitchen

Financial clutter can block your progress toward a clear financial path, and the cost can be tremendous if it keeps you from paying bills on time or leaves you vulnerable to identity theft.