To try to keep up with what your neighbors have socially and financially; to work hard to have possessions as good as your neighbors.

In 1913 a popular comic strip called "Keeping Up with the Joneses" appeared in many American newspapers, starting with the New York Globe. The cartoon was about the experiences of a newly married young man, and the cartoonist based it on his own life. He chose the name Jones because it was a popular name in America. The name of the comic strip became a popular expression that meant to try hard to follow the latest fashion and live in the style of those around you.

Having to keep up with the Joneses, as soon as Phil got a new snowblower, Sid did too.