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In a post last month, I focused on a mind shackle that is hindering the economic advancement of millions of Americans. I called this mind shackle privilege envy syndrome, and here’s the definition.
When one is so preoccupied with the fact that others have more that one becomes blind to the opportunity and good fortune one possesses, one is suffering from privilege envy syndrome. Privilege envy syndrome thus turns one into an excuse-making loser who is incapable of self-reflection and utterly impotent when it comes to improving one’s finances.
Sadly, I know all too well the scourge of privilege envy syndrome. Before I reached my 40th birthday, I suffered from a rather strong case of it. I really believed that I was condemned to a life of financial mediocrity because I was employed by a lame-ass highway department. I didn’t have the “privilege” of working on Wall Street or in some other high-paying sector of the economy, so in my pathetic mind, financial success was beyond my ken. I would forever be a dead-animal picker-upper who drank beer, complained effusively, and muddled along paycheck to paycheck.
My bout with privilege envy syndrome ended in my late 30s. For reasons I don’t remember, it suddenly dawned on me that I had all the opportunity and resources I needed to turn my financial life around. And once I began exploiting these readily available opportunities and resources—which basically amounted to learning useful job skills and refraining from cold-stone financial stupidity—my finances began to change for the better.
What I would like to do with this post is twofold. First, I want to show you that privilege envy syndrome isn’t a figment of my imagination. It really is a mind shackle that is hamstringing millions of Americans. Second, I want to show you that privilege envy syndrome is the bane of the financial independence movement and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Let’s begin.
Tanja and Friends Expose Privilege Envy Syndrome
A couple of weeks ago, I came across the following video in my YouTube feed. Yep, ABC News decided to do a feature on a personal finance workshop run by my arch-enemy, Tanja Hester from ONL.
Haha! Calling Tanja my arch-enemy is of course done in jest. Yes, she’s from the SJW wing of the FI movement and I’m from the freedomist or alt-FI wing of the FI movement. But just because we disagree on politics doesn’t mean she’s my “arch-enemy.” This is especially true when you consider that I don’t think she and I disagree on anything concerning money. In fact, when it comes to personal finance and the pillars of building wealth, I would dare say that Tanja and I are two very amiable peas in a very amiable pod.
Here, for instance, are the three strategies that Tanja advocates in the video to build wealth.
Be mindful of your expenses and cut out extra spending.
Increase pay every year.
Save raises.
Can’t argue with those strategies. If you stop wasting money, make a little more every year (either through raises, promotions, or side-hustles), and avoid lifestyle inflation, you will build wealth. In short, I firmly believe that Tanja has the answers to most people’s financial woes.
But when we turn to the comments section, we see that a shocking amount of the commenters suffer from privilege envy syndrome, and because of this, they’re incapable of even considering Tanja’s very sage advice. Here’s a quick look at privilege envy syndrome in action.
Privilege Envy Syndrome In Action
Stephen Anthony lamented that Tanja and her friends weren’t saddled with an expense that many Americans have.
Anyone else notice they don’t have kids?
Candace Matthews fretted that Tanja and her friends may have made it through the higher education juggernaut unscathed.
sounds like these people didn[‘]t have student loans
agmorgan suggested that we have no agency or control over our financial well-being.
Everyone is just one illness away from losing their savings.
John W averred that Tanja’s sage advice only benefits those who are financially well off.
Lol. This doesn’t really apply to the vast majority of millennials who are making $20,000-$40,000/yr and drowning in debt.
Jackie Arrizon agreed with John W.
This literally only applies to people with good careers
And Justin Wilkens agreed with John W and Jackie Arrizon.
Umm, what percentage of millennials are doing this? The top 10% earners? ABC, please get real.
CandyisAwesome86 had a problem with the skin color of Tanja and her friends.
Correction to title: Preppy white millennials with Ivy League educations save tons of money and quit their real jobs to take on play jobs 😂
Bryzz Lull couldn’t handle the lack of diversity.
It[‘]s always rich white yuppies who do this.
M.Y. O’Hara-Smith needed to remind everyone about the scourge of systemic racism.
Do POC even get a shot at such careers, education?
And juk139 was sure that Tanja’s message would only resonate with certain people.
No people of Color were benefited in the making of this news piece
Okay, that’s enough. I think you get the picture. Fatalistic musings like these go on and on and on and on, sprinkled liberally amongst the 2,500 comments. It’s maddening.
Longmont, We Have a Problem!
When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, I was well aware that others had more and better stuff. And I was well aware that the fickle finger of fate gave exquisite brains, talents, or good looks to some and denied those very valuable traits to others. But my parents and teachers never encouraged me to dwell on my lack of “privilege” or use my lack of “privilege” as a crutch. I was expected to “make something of myself,” regardless of my circumstances.
And, yet, as I progressed through adulthood in the 80s and 90s, I managed to develop a rather strong case of privilege envy syndrome. So the intellectual underpinnings of this mental shackle were all in place by the time the 80s arrived. Today, “privilege” shaming is all the rage, and the cool people, especially the cool people in education, entertainment, and journalism, have come to the conclusion that privilege envy syndrome is a healthy worldview. They want as many people as possible to believe that privilege is destiny, that privilege is fixed and hoarded by the few powerful, and that privilege “inequality” is best addressed by the government.
Now I have a couple of questions for you, groovy freedomist.
First, how is the FI movement supposed to grow when the everyday American is encouraged by the cool people to become expert on the advantages of others but remain grossly ignorant of the advantages he or she possesses?
Second, how is the FI movement supposed to grow when the biggest players in the FI movement exude “privilege”? After all, isn’t it a “privilege” to be white, to be married with no kids, and to be employed in tech or finance? And how is the everyday American supposed to relate to such a “privileged” bunch?
The truth of the matter is that the FI movement will never be anything but a cult. Privilege envy syndrome has rendered too many Americans incapable of embracing its key teachings.
Final Thoughts
I sincerely hope I’m wrong. And there’s reason to believe that privilege envy syndrome isn’t as widespread as I suspect. The ABC video featuring Tanja has far more likes than dislikes (4,100 versus 645). And there were, of course, commenters who got it. I’m only assuming that the anti-privilege comments laden in the comment section are an accurate representation of the American mindset. It’s entirely possible that the comment section is suffering from a severe case of selection bias. But then again, check out this article I came across yesterday. A Havard professor actually makes the argument that some Harvard students are more “privileged” than others because some students know faculty office hours are a great way to network with faculty and other students don’t. Aaaaarrrrrggggg! The FI movement is screwed.
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? Is privilege envy syndrome so widespread that the FI movement will never come close to achieving mainstream status? Or is privilege envy syndrome and the threat it poses to the FI movement just figments of my twisted mind? Chime in when you get a chance. Peace.
I hope your coined phrase “privilege envy syndrome” catches on – because it’s spot-on!
BTW, I Googled the phrase to see if anyone else uses it. I’m guessing not since the top results were this post and a couple “penis envy” posts. HAHAHA
Brad, Fee-Only Financial Planning recently posted…Many Big Companies No Longer Require a College Degree
Great post!
In my opinion, it will not be publicized for the following reasons:
-it’s an extremely small percentage of the population
-it will never be mainstream because it doesn’t produce “mainstream ratings”
-from a political perspective, and most mainstream is on the left, FIRE reduces taxable income if done correctly, and thus will not be promoted
Great job!
Mr Black Tee recently posted…How I Created My Blog Name In 4 Easy Steps
Everyone has privilege. Everyone’s privilege is different. I mostly think of privilege as a starting point. I feel the majority suffer from privilege envy syndrome -great term. As teenager, I remember my parents explaining driving at 16 was privilege and not a right. I needed their consent as I was a minor, required a license and insurance. I think some privileges can be earned.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree wholeheartedly with your comment. But I think you’re mainly using “privilege” as a synonym for good fortune. To me, “privilege” should denote a special advantage conferred by the government. You get to drive a car because you reached a certain age and passed a state-approved driving test. You get to go to an elite college with a subpar SAT score because you have a certain skin color and the government says colleges may discriminate against more accomplished students with different skin colors. SJWs, on the other hand, define “privilege” as any unearned benefit a person receives, and I don’t like this definition for two reasons. First, it doesn’t make a distinction between an unearned benefit that comes at the expense of someone else’s rights (i.e., affirmative action) and an unearned benefit that doesn’t (i.e., being born in the United States). Second, defining “privilege” as any unearned benefit means everyone has it, and this allows SJWs to pick and choose who they can discredit. For instance, I worked for a municipality on Long Island that was very insular. In order to get a job at this municipality, you had to know somebody. I got my job because my neighbor worked for this municipality and had a lot of influence. A co-worker of mine, who happened to be black, got his job because his father was the president of our union. Now, an SJW would describe my employment as an example of “white privilege.” But this same SJW would never describe the employment of my black co-worker as an example of “black privilege.” In short, the term “privilege” has been weaponized by SJWs, and SJWs gleefully use it to bludgeon the character of the people they don’t like (primarily white people and males). Okay, I’ll stop there. Sorry for the rant, my friend. I guess you can say I have some issues.
Getting to FI is hard now, if Tanja who is as far left as it gets had her way, it would be impossible.
Make no mistake FI does not exist under socialism unless of course you’re the dictator or very well connected politically. Tanja has absolutely no problem raising taxes through the roof to pay for medicare for all, medicare for illegal aliens etc. Tanja has no problem with sending the government to your house with a gun to take your money. For an example of this don’t pay property taxes and watch what happens.
Tanja is a socialist period. To make light of it and say you guys don’t have that much of a difference financially is silly.
Excellent points, my friend. There’s a reason why the financial independence movement began in the United States and not Brasil, Sweden, or China. And I do think that Tanja’s a tyrant at heart and she would readily enslave me if doing so would bring about her socialist utopia. But when it comes to personal finance and the steps one must take to get ahead, I don’t think Tanja and I disagree. In other words, we’ve both bought into the pillars of FI. Keep enhancing your job skills, live frugally, spend less than you earn, get an emergency fund, invest in low-cost index funds–yada, yada, yada. But then again, Mrs. Groovy agrees with you. She thinks socialism is so inimical to the long-run prospects of the FI movement that it’s misguided to separate Tanja’s personal finance advice from her politics. Hmmmm. I got to think about this some more. Great freakin’ comment.
PES is indeed real! I had it for years. Until I read a PF blog in ’13 (I think it was Grayson’s blog) about a guy who paid off a boatload of debt and got his crap together. That’s when I realized that most of us have a CHOICE. We can all bitch and moan about how everyone has it better than us. However, what good does that do???? Pull up your bootstraps and change your situation. While it’s true that not everyone can do that (medical and other illnesses, etc.) MOST can. They just won’t. Too busy focusing on their misfortune. I remember years ago someone telling me it was his “lot in life” to be in the career he was in (garbage man, making $23 an hour or so) and be financially floundering. I replied that he did have a choice over what he did. 10 years later he’s still a garbage man, but a consumer debt free one who’s working on being mortgage free too. Sh*t or get off the pot, so to speak. Excellent post, my friend.
Nailed it, Laurie. Whether you have wealth and want to sustain it or lack wealth and want to obtain it, the means of achieving your goal are exactly the same: spend less than you earn, protect yourself from life’s inevitable curve balls, and invest wisely. In short, no one can maintain or build wealth without practicing safe money. If a wealthy person fails to practice safe money, he or she will destroy his or her wealth. If a poor person fails to practice safe money, he or she will remain poor. Love the way your mind works, Laurie. And I love that you, me, and your garbage man friend all had the same financial epiphany. Once we realized we had agency and began practicing safe money, nothing could stop us from turning our financial lives around. Hope all is well on your end. Cheers.
Amen, my brother!!! Well said. And yes, things are great. 🙂
Yep, the vast majority of people who get ahead do so because they have the right attitude. The people making excuses, well, they mostly keep on making excuses.
David @iretiredyoung recently posted…Early Retirement – our net worth & investing journey
Attitude makes or breaks wealth! I love it, my friend. With five simple words, you distilled the essence of personal finance.
I’ve always looked with favor upon people who see the glass as half full. PES is a realistic view of the millions of people who see it as half empty.
Each of us are free to choose. We can look at our opportunities and make the most of them, or we can look at the opportunities of others with envy. As for me, I’ll choose the former. Every time.
Then again, I’m FI….hmmm, cause and effect, perhaps?
It’s crazy. Anyone born in the United States with a healthy mind and body won the lottery. And, yet, millions of Americans fail to appreciate this. It’s like hungry people standing in a room with a buffet of hamburgers, hot dogs, and potato salad and they refuse to eat because somewhere in the United States someone is eating filet mignon and lobster. We’re supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. But in reality, we’re the land of the wannabe slaves and home of the psychologically weak. It’s embarrassing.
YESSSSSSS!!!
I agree with Joe. It’ll never be widespread because of the things you point out and because people won’t change as Joe said.
Bloggers like you and MMM, who present the fundamentals of FI in a direct way without worrying about hurting feelings, will continue to influence those who are open to the message.
“Bloggers like you and MMM…”
I accept all the superlatives! Thank you, Mr. G. You made my day.
I don’t think FI needs to be mainstream. Not everyone can make high income or live very frugally. Most people just aren’t willing to change. It’s way easier to criticize other people.
Joe recently posted…I’m Bringing Back Summer Breaks
Agreed. The FI movement has a lot of headwinds. A culture that has normalized debt, deprivation phobia, and the all too human inclination to prefer idleness to work–it’s amazing the FI movement has become a thing at all. Now throw in privilege envy syndrome. The FI movement doesn’t stand a chance.
Agreed. I recently coached someone how to financially transform their lives in 30 minutes what they could not do in over 40 years. It is all about mindset.
Make a goal. Write it down. A goal in your head is just a wish. Then get cracking.
The savings rate in America is an abysmal 5% and for many its – 5% if you are in serious debt. Focus more on saving and less on people of so-called privilege.
My least two favorite words are debt and loans. My favorite two are financial and freedom. I decided to save my way out of living paycheck-to-paycheck. You must decide your path. Good Luck to those that choose to save. I tip my hat to you.
Greenbacks Magnet recently posted…Stock Splits And Misfits
I just ended a FB entry (inspired by this post) with:
“I could go on. To summarize, a great philosopher once said “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.”
I agree. Do you?”
There is too much good in every single one of our lives to be busy focusing instead on other’s good things.
Awesome, my friend. Couldn’t have said it better. Check out this video I just came across a few days ago.
Cage Dwellers
Yeah, we have it really tough over here. No opportunity. No safety net. No freakin’ chance. I don’t know why Americans aren’t leaving in droves.
we seem to have raised an entire generation of mewling babies. i swear we have educators and therapists (i read one knucklehead young blogger who insisted everyone should be in therapy!) are telling young people they OUGHT to be burned out with work. my coworker has a couple of 20 something sons and they whine and cry about work and have barely gotten started. i think the indoctrination starts early nowadays.
all those whiny privilege claims and social justice warriors is how we end up with somebody like trump in the white house. they might not make up the entire progressive wing but the coastal elites like that seem to have the loudest voices and highest visibility that doesn’t relate well with all the regular folks just living their lives. i hope all is well, groovies.
freddy smidlap recently posted…Fitness Journey Phase II
“all those whiny privilege claims and social justice warriors is how we end up with somebody like trump in the white house.”
A-freakin’-men! Keep telling decent people they’re racist, keep telling laid-off factory workers they’re supposed to retool themselves at coding boot camps, and keep telling people they’re fools for preferring freedom to Leviathan. This is what Democrats and SJWs have been doing for at least ten years now. And millions of people now hate Democrats and SJWs. And they gave the Democrats and SJWs the greatest FU in the history of presidential elections in 2016.
Lots to talk about, but hopefully in century we’ll have civil discussions about the FI movement like we sometimes debate if the Rockefellers, Carnegies, and Fords were “robber barons” or “captains of industry.”
I think the disdain is going to intensify in the near-term in the mainstream media channels. Although outlets like Kiplinger’s and others have been shining a positive light on FI couples. Of course, one must actively seek out these sources.
Josh recently posted…Be Careful Booking Hotwire Rental Car Deals
Mainstream media are tough. They have a severe case of victimhood magnification bias–that is, they have a strong bias for stories that show the groups they don’t like (i.e., whites, men, Christians, cops, Republicans, One Percenters, etc.) mistreating the groups they do like (i.e., blacks, women, non-Christians, illegal aliens, Democrats, poor people, etc.). Not only does this bias distort reality and sow discord, but it also helps saddle the very people they like with the financially debilitating disease of privilege envy syndrome. What a mess. And I don’t see how it ends. I hope I’m wrong, but as far as I can tell, the people who run our most influential media outlets have a very high opinion of their morals and intelligence. In other words, media hubris is too entrenched for things to change. Thanks for stopping by, Josh. Awesome comment.
Some people will never get out of the “but I’m struggling more than them, and therefore, their accomplishments should mean less” spiral of frustration and, sometimes, even hate. I’ve stopped trying to convince people otherwise because, well, people are going to believe whatever they want to believe.
I think the important thing to do is keep hammering home the message that amazing things are possible if you just give it a try. You might not succeed every single time. It might be tougher for you than for somebody else. But, the truth remains that if you don’t try – regardless of your upbringing or so-called “privilege”, then you’ll never accomplish much of anything.
Political correctness doesn’t accomplish goals for people. We do.
“I think the important thing to do is keep hammering home the message that amazing things are possible if you just give it a try…Political correctness doesn’t accomplish goals for people. We do.”
Amen, brother. I really appreciate your insights and I really appreciate your visit. Thank you.
When I was coming up in the trades as a young guy I was always amazed by the men who were maybe ten years older than me that owned construction companies of thier own. working on commerical projects. Usually working right along side me although maybe a different trade like Sprinkler systems or electricians or maybe plumbers. I thought that was the coolest thing. Were they privileged? Oh hell yeah they were, they were privileged to live in America where if you can dream it then with a lot of work and some breaks and God’s favor you can do anything you can conceive. Took me eight years from a starting first year metal stud carpentry apprentice to start my own company, no one in my family knew anything about business and no one i knew could help. No college just school of hard knocks. What did help was parents who taught me to save and manange my money growing up, thats it. Plus a lot of faith in Gods plan for my life and a great wife. End result is started that business in 1982 and still at it today after a very successful carreer. Priviledge? Yeah the privilege to live in a country where anything is possible even for just a high school grad with a lot of determination and drive and faith in a God that I am convinced wants you to succeed and will bless the work of your hands. I have far exceeded the wealth of my working class parents just as I would like for my own kids. Wow what a privileged bunch of blessings we have to live in America the land of opportunity.
Love your work Mr Groovy, thanks.