Mark Evans DM argues we compare ourselves to extreme reality TV examples to feel better, then apply that same mental trick to money decisions, justifying purchases to ease cognitive dissonance. He's lost money on many purchases but gained the rules they taught him.
Why do you think things like 600 pound life works? Why do you think the Kardashians work? Because when you watch this, you're like, dude, my life is not that bad. They got a life. That guy's huge. Or that gal's huge. I'm not that fat. I'm only £400. I'm serious. This is what we do to ourselves. This is what happens with our mental programming. Why else would you watch that? It makes you feel better about your situation. Back to the money thing. You're doing it with money all the time. You're justifying your car. Because I only needed to get to point A to point B. Mark, you don't understand. There's no difference. Oh, there's a big difference. But I'm not here to tell you about it. You got to figure it out on your own. You got to live it. It's okay to lose money when I buy my rules. I lose money every single time. But, man, how much is that rules made me?
