Twelve percent of Americans say they felt pressured to spend more than they were comfortable with on a home in order to appear successful in the eyes of others, according to a new Bankrate.com survey of more than 2,700 adults.
Parents with children under the age 18 (at 21%) were most likely to have felt pressured to overspend on a house, according to the survey. Buyers between the ages of 23 and 38 were twice as likely as those older than 38 to spend beyond their comfort zone—18% and 9%, respectively.
Real estate isn't the only area where adults report feeling peer pressure to overspend. The survey found that 49% of Americans also feel pressure to overspend on clothing, shoes, jewelry, dining out, and cars. The most common sources of peer pressure come from friends (37%), followed by spouses or significant others (30%), extended family (25%), and children (23%), according to the survey.
Source: “Survey: 43% of Parents Pressured to Overspend on Back-to-School Shopping,” Bankrate.com (July 29, 2019)
