People can easily fall into “false financial comparisons,” a scenario in which we believe we can afford the same lifestyles people we perceive as “just like us” have, saidin her new book,
A certified financial planner, Thakor noticed this phenomenon during the three decades she spent helping people make better decisions around money in her wealth management practice.
“People would come to me and they would be driving the nicest cars [and dressed] in the newest fashions with incredible jewelry and shoes,” she told CNBC. “And I would discover that they didn’t have enough in assets to meet the minimum [to be a client].