FOMO vs JOMO - The financial pros & cons
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PUBLISHED ONJuly 20, 2020 2:54 AMByKishore Sabareeshan
When it comes to life, there’s no one correct way to do it, hence the saying to each her/his own. That being said, our lifestyle directly impacts our financial situation, so in a sense, who we are plays a huge role in shaping the way we handle our money.
The terms JOMO and FOMO have gained popularity over the last couple of years. For the uninitiated, these have to do with lifestyles, mainly. While the former stands for Joy Of Missing Out, the latter expands to say Fear Of Missing Out.
As the phrase suggests, JOMO is inherent in someone who finds relief from spending time alone and is not bound by social pressure. Barring a few exceptions, most introverts radiate of JOMO as they recharge by disconnecting from the social circles and only seek company when they need a change from their routine.
FOMO can be directly like to an extrovert’s lifestyle. People under this category look forward to social meetings and view them as a way to refresh and recharge themselves. Usually personable and gregarious, this cheerful lot doesn’t like to spend as much time alone as the JOMO folks.
By understanding the above, it’s easy to see how each of these two approaches to life can benefit someone in its own unique way. Today, we’ll see how JOMO and FOMO affect our finances, so without further delay, let’s get started!
JOMO – The financial pros
- More time spent indoors, hence less expenses spent on weekend outings
- Expenses and financial decisions mostly dictated by one’s own individual goals rather than group plans and goals
- Typically prudent credit card usage
- Motivation from the joy of saving from abstaining social meetings that they are happy to avoid
JOMO – The financial cons
- Likely to miss out on discounts and other perks that come with group bookings
- Less in tune with the most cost-effective entertainment options in comparison to the outgoing crowd
FOMO – The financial pros
- Enhanced personal savings from approaching expenses from a let’s split it perspective
- More in tune with current trends of weekend outings, hence possessing the ability to plan out a frugal night-out with ease
FOMO – The financial cons
- Vulnerable to social pressure and hence may overshoot credit limits
- Run the risk of spending more with every out hence falling short of savings goals
From these observations, the boons and banes of each approach are pretty clear. However, we can’t deny that a JOMO approach may benefit a person more on an individual basis.
That being said, the bracket of people who are likely to enjoy both JOMO & FOMO benefits are ambiverts, i.e., people who can swiftly move between being an introvert to an extrovert as the situation demands.
While one can certainly adapt to new changes, each person is inherently either an extrovert or introvert with traces of the opposite, so it’s entirely up to to leverage as many financial benefits as you can based on your social comfort.