February 20, 2026: Here is the Biggest Mistake I See People Make…

Comparison is the thief of joy.

I see people fail to follow through on their plans, ignore the recommendations necessary to get them on track, be too conservative or too aggressive with their investments, etc. But it boils down to one common theme: comparing their circumstances to their friends, neighbors, acquaintances, peers, and coworkers.

I have found this comparison to be particularly counterproductive to achieving goals so the advice I give everyone is this: stop comparing your plan, finances, and circumstances to those of others. You will spend more than you should, chase speculative investments, get into too much debt, fail to save for your goals, and ultimately ignore what is most important to you.

These people, even if they are friends and family, don’t have the full perspective of your life and finances. Comparing your goals, investments, purchases, sales, wins, losses, and circumstances to those people is futile.

The kicker is that when someone is bragging about their highly successful investment portfolio, they certainly are not telling you about all the duds they’ve invested in. No one wants to admit that! But, they can’t wait to tell you about the winners.

Stop and put it in perspective. What does someone else’s investments (or any other number of categories for comparison) have to do with you? The answer is literally nothing.

Create your financial plan with a financial planner and the focus is on you and your goals. All those people you might compare yourself with are irrelevant when putting together a successful and effective plan. To a financial planner, these people are just strangers. Even if you don’t have a financial plan yet, don’t fall into the comparison trap. Social media is insidious for this - there are countless images of success and high-achievers. Are you getting the full story? No, and it wouldn’t matter if you did.

I started the year saying the theme for clients in 2026 is diligence. This is another form of diligence. Stay focused on you and your goals. Stay focused on what you can control. Comparison is the thief of joy and will lead to irrational decisions.