Keeping Up With the Jones

A week ago traveling into work I passed a fender bender that involved four cars, a BMW 330, a Suburban, a Toyota Camry and a Taurus. A mile or so down the road while stopped at a set of lights I noticed the cars around me. There were two Nissan 350Z, a Ford F-150, a Ford Focus, a Corolla, a Chrysler PT Cruiser, a Sebring convertible (there are times I wish I had Evie’s car), a Chev Cavelier and a higher end Mercedes. Such a mix with higher end cars is not uncommon in Fairfax.

The accident and my observations at the light again recalled to my mind the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’s.” The phrase is often used to speak about maintaining a similar lifestyle as one’s neighbors. Even if desired, for the Fairfax branch of the Sears family, keeping up with the Jones is not a possibility.

While none of Fairfax County’s zip codes would appear on a list of the top 20 wealthiest zip codes, the average household income in Fairfax County as a whole is very high. For over 15 years the County, along with Montgomery County in MD (just north of DC), has been in the top five in the nation. The area from which Oakton High School draws its students is one of the strongest in the County.

We are reminded of this wealth in various ways. When Josh goes to a party at a home of a friend we drive down streets where homes at the low end are worth $750,000. A new townhouse development just down the street from us has a sign saying “only starting at $680,000.” When the band’s rehearsal ends it is not uncommon to see students jumping into their own SUV, BMWs, Lexus’ and Mercedes, or to see parents waiting curbside with the same.

His friends do not get together at McDonald’s, they get together at restaurants where you could easily spend $25 per person on a meal. A night out at the movies, with pre-movie meal and post movie socializing in a restaurant could run $40.

Last year several parents and the music teachers thought it would be great to take the Jazz students to New Orleans to visit jazz clubs…price for the trip $950. That was on top of the Nashville trip which cost $450 a few weeks before. The cost of having Josh in the band program at the school is about $1,000 to 1,500 a year ($550 week long band camp at Orkney Springs Resort, $150 in marching band fees, $200 for concert and jazz band tuxedo rentals, marching band shoes and white gloves $85, spring trip $500 to 1,000 depending on the trip). This does not include the cost of two instruments (students provide their own)…one older student model for Marching Band and Pep Band, and a moderate price professional trombone for Concert Band and Jazz.

Evie and I desire the best for our sons, that is, within reason. And “within reason” is the rub. We are fortunate that Jonathan and Joshua usually have sought out a good book or movie more than expensive toys and gadgets. They want tasteful and basic clothing and are not after high priced items. Hence, we have rarely felt pressure from our sons to have more things. They are content with a simpler lifestyle and give thought to how they spend their money (the standard is not as strict with Mom and Dad’s money).

For the Fairfax branch of the Sears family, keeping up with the Jones’s is out of the question. We are not going to have the type of homes and vehicles, dine weekly at restaurants where meals cost $100 for two, have the latest designer items that one discards at the end of the season, and fly two or three times a winter to the Caribbean or Florida for a weekend. For Evie and I, our goal is to allow Josh to be on the same track as the Jones’s even if it be few laps behind.