Why we can't stop buying stuff we don't need ??

Hiiiiii! Whew. YALL! Happy Friday.

It’s been a while and I appreciate your patience as I’ve transitioned from a wild (but good!) Summer and settled into a more structured Fall routine. My brain is happy and I am SOOOO happy to be back in your inbox!

I've missed your lil notes and?replies and I’m ready to bring us back to a more consistent newsletter schedule around here!

There’s a lot I want to tell you about what I learned over the summer and what we’ve been working on but I’m going to ease us back in. I can’t think of a better way to do that than to talk about this week’s podcast episode with Dr. Marcus Collins

Dr. Marcus Collins is a marketing professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business who previously led iTunes + Nike sports music initiatives at Apple, ran digital strategy for Beyoncé, and was the brains behind some of the biggest marketing campaigns in the world like “Cliff Paul” for State Farm.

He’s also a Detroit native, A Tribe Called Quest fan, husband, father, and a dude who got clowned for wearing a Mighty Mouse t-shirt on the first day of high school ??

Now as MUCH as I wanted to know what it was like to work with Bey, I knew my actual job was to grill Marcus about?the sneaky ways culture impacts our budgets.

If you’ve been rocking with us for a while, you know?a big part of our approach is based on the belief that many of our money struggles have more to do with cultural conditioning than a lack of financial know-how.?

After thousands of conversations with smart people, we know WHAT the problem is. To shed light on WHY it's so dang hard to stop blowing money we don't have on stuff we don't need, we had to bring in the guy who has degrees in things like 'cultural contagion' and 'meaning-making' ??

Dr. Collins has a gift for putting into words how brands have taken on this almost sacred role in our modern culture.?His book,?For the Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want to Be, is essential reading for anyone who’s ever fallen down the rabbit hole of a viral trend, bought the thing, and then wondered, ‘What in the HELL was I thinking?’ ??

He's the type of podcast guest who?can wax poetic about how brands have gone beyond their material purpose and become these modern-day idols that we feel compelled to worship through our purchases. And just when you start to feel intimidated by his credentials, he’ll turn around and admit that he’s just as susceptible to these forces as the rest of us.?

Isn’t that funny? Here’s this guy who’s made a career out of dissecting nonsensical consumer behavior, but even he can’t resist the pull of being a diehard Apple loyalist.

It's a delightful contradiction that perfectly captures how powerful these cultural forces can be, even for the people?who study them the most. Cause if the marketing Yoda himself isn't immune to?conspicuous consumption, what hope do the rest of us have?

Here's the thing: Even when we know the "right" financial moves, our minds are still under constant assault. The endless ads, influencer marketing, and social proof don't just tempt us with material desires - they tap?into our deepest human needs for belonging, status, and feeling worthy.

Our sense of self, our social standing, our very worthiness as human beings - all of it becomes an extension of?mindless consumption.

When society dangles the promise of identity, community, and self-worth?being tied to the brands we buy and the labels we display, how can we be expected to resist? To go against that cultural current requires an almost superhuman act of willpower and self-awareness.?It's enough to make you want to throw your hands up and say "Ugh, no wonder I can't stop adding stuff to my cart!” ??

It's a lot to unpack, but Dr. Collins explains the?cause and cure with such warmth and humor, you can't help but nod along, thinking "Yep, that's me - and I'm definitely not the only one."

Hearing this stuff may make us squirm a little, but that's actually the good news. If our money struggles aren't because we're 'bad with money,' but because we're under the influence of bad systems, then it means we don't have to be passive victims.

Once we realize that our spending impulses aren't some?personal flaw, but a feature of a system engineered to keep us wanting and?spending, we don't have to feel so powerless.?With the right mindset and strategies, we can take back control.

Instead of chasing an elusive identity through material goods, we can spend more intentionally - pausing before each purchase to ask if it's a genuine need or just a want fueled by our need for a certain image or feeling.?If it's the latter - put it back, fren!

We can also approach our personal brand?with the same care as the companies we admire, getting clear on our values and what we want to stand for. By becoming a purposeful "brand of one," we can attract the right people and opportunities, freeing ourselves from the need to use stuff to construct our identity.

Lastly,?we can embrace marketing as a life skill. Marketing isn't just for corporations, it's something we all do every day. The more we understand the power of marketing, the more control we'll have over how we present ourselves?to the world.?

The freedom that comes from these shifts can be profound. And when people talk about the things money can't buy, this is exactly what they mean.

Listen to episode 180 now, or watch it below on YouTube