There is a general dissatisfaction in American life which is the result of always wanting more, bigger and showier. We live in a society that strongly encourages that because some powerful people are benefitting from that (we know who they are).
Kids are tempted with flashy, trendy toys that they are bored with ten minutes after they get them.
Teens are told that they need the latest brands to be popular.
College students are encouraged to mortgage their futures at staus schools instead of attending cheaper community colleges.
We buy more house or car than we need to impress other people (and ourselves), and end up paying increased costs to maintain and insure them.
We slide towards retirement, never thinking about what we are doing, and are shocked to find out that there will be no retirement because we are buried under huge credit card debt, car payments, and 2nd or 3rd mortgages on our homes. If we can't keep working, we don't downsize. We continue to destroy ourselves by getting reverse mortgages on homes we can barely afford to maintain.
I am not saying this as an outsider. DH and I did our share of stupid things, including paying twice what we should have for this Clàss A. We could have gotten a good class C for half the money, but we didn't want "them" to look down on us. We also wanted to impress ourselves, I think. You know what? The same people who would have looked down on a Class C also look down on our 8 yr old Class A, and we blew an extra $35,000 on a depreciating asset that gives us no more benefit than the cheaper one would have given us.
]Society may be set up that way, but we have noone to blame but ourselves. We have brains. It is our own fault if we make foolish decisions instead of wise ones.
Kids are tempted with flashy, trendy toys that they are bored with ten minutes after they get them.
Teens are told that they need the latest brands to be popular.
College students are encouraged to mortgage their futures at staus schools instead of attending cheaper community colleges.
We buy more house or car than we need to impress other people (and ourselves), and end up paying increased costs to maintain and insure them.
We slide towards retirement, never thinking about what we are doing, and are shocked to find out that there will be no retirement because we are buried under huge credit card debt, car payments, and 2nd or 3rd mortgages on our homes. If we can't keep working, we don't downsize. We continue to destroy ourselves by getting reverse mortgages on homes we can barely afford to maintain.
I am not saying this as an outsider. DH and I did our share of stupid things, including paying twice what we should have for this Clàss A. We could have gotten a good class C for half the money, but we didn't want "them" to look down on us. We also wanted to impress ourselves, I think. You know what? The same people who would have looked down on a Class C also look down on our 8 yr old Class A, and we blew an extra $35,000 on a depreciating asset that gives us no more benefit than the cheaper one would have given us.
]Society may be set up that way, but we have noone to blame but ourselves. We have brains. It is our own fault if we make foolish decisions instead of wise ones.
