Have you ever wondered why people who aren’t rich buy expensive things? Why someone who earns $100,000 a year drives a $90,000 car, lives in a million-dollar home, and eats at restaurants where the wine bill alone could cover your mortgage? It’s not because they are rich. It’s because they want to appear rich.
The truth is, many of these people are what I call “aspirationals.” They’re playing a part, spending money to signal wealth they don’t actually have. They buy the symbols of affluence—luxury cars, high-end watches, designer clothes—thinking it’ll give them status, happiness, or both. But behind this need to act rich is a powerful and sometimes dangerous psychology that leads people into financial quicksand.
Chasing a Dream, Buying a Fantasy
Aspirationals are not necessarily bad people. In fact, they’re often motivated by the same desires that drive many of us: the desire for respect, admiration, and a sense of belonging. It’s easy to see how someone can fall into the trap. Luxury brands, celebrity culture, and social media bombard us with images of the so-called “good life.” Advertisements promise that happiness, confidence, and success are just one purchase away. All you have to do is buy the right car, wear the right clothes, live in the right house, and—voila!—you’ll finally have “made it.”
But here’s the problem: This is a fantasy, and buying into it is expensive—literally and figuratively.
The Emotional Spending Cycle
Many people who act rich are not motivated purely by a desire to show off. They buy luxury items because they think it will fill an emotional void. Maybe they’re unhappy at work, dissatisfied with their social status, or simply bored with their everyday life. A high-end purchase becomes a temporary solution to a deeper problem, giving them a brief thrill and a momentary boost in self-esteem. It feels good to show up at a party in a new Rolex or post pictures of a lavish vacation on Instagram. For a short time, they feel like they belong to an exclusive club.
The issue is, the satisfaction from these purchases never lasts. Like a sugar high, the buzz fades quickly, and they’re left with the same problems as before—plus a hefty credit card bill. So, what do they do? They buy more. This leads to a vicious cycle of emotional spending, where people continue to buy things they can’t afford, trying to maintain an image of wealth that’s completely divorced from their reality.
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Another reason people act rich is the age-old human instinct to compete. We’ve all heard the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses.” It’s the idea that if your neighbor buys a new car, you suddenly feel pressure to buy one too. This social comparison is baked into our psychology, and it’s been around for centuries. But today’s version is more dangerous because now we’re not just comparing ourselves to our neighbors; we’re comparing ourselves to celebrities, influencers, and people we’ve never even met. Social media has turned our social circles into global competition arenas where it seems like everyone is winning—except us.
But here’s the truth about the Joneses: They’re likely broke.
According to my research, most people who live in high-status neighborhoods or drive luxury cars are not actually wealthy. In fact, they are more likely to be drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and one financial mishap away from disaster. The glittering rich—the people you’re trying to keep up with—are often just acting rich, hoping you won’t notice the shaky foundation their lifestyle is built on.
Why Acting Rich Will Keep You Poor
The real millionaires—the ones who have built wealth over time—don’t feel the need to flaunt it. They understand that true financial freedom comes from living below your means, not above them. But aspirationals don’t get that. They spend their hard-earned money on things that depreciate in value—cars, clothes, gadgets—instead of investing it in assets that grow.
This is why acting rich is so dangerous. It tricks you into thinking you’re wealthy when you’re really just digging yourself deeper into a hole. Every time you swipe your card for that designer handbag or luxury car lease, you’re robbing your future self of the opportunity to build real wealth. Instead of working toward financial security, you’re working to pay off debt for things that lose value the moment you take them home.
The Path to Real Wealth
So, how do you stop acting rich and start living like a real millionaire? It starts with changing your mindset. The key to wealth isn’t in what you buy, but in what you don’t buy. Real millionaires don’t care about impressing others; they care about financial independence. They don’t waste money on luxury items that drain their bank accounts. Instead, they invest in assets that grow over time—stocks, real estate, businesses—and they live in neighborhoods where their peers have less net worth than they do.
If you’re serious about building wealth, you need to stop caring about what other people think. You need to stop looking to the glittering rich for validation and start looking at your bank balance. Because at the end of the day, it’s not what you drive or wear that matters. It’s the freedom to live life on your own terms—without debt, without stress, and without the need to impress anyone.
That’s the psychology behind acting rich: it’s an illusion, a trap, and one that will keep you poor if you let it. But if you can break free from the need to act rich, you’ll be on the path to becoming truly wealthy—one smart decision at a time.