D'ya hear that? No, it's not the sound of me jerking my needle off my old Andy Gibb album in disbelief I ever bought the thing in the first place. No, rather, it is just the sudden halt of consumerism heard throughout the nation. More specifically, it is the sound of my halcyon days of spending coming to an end, conspicuously and reluctantly.
Yeesh, I will miss them. Oh, those were the days, freewheeling and heady. Spending like there was no tomorrow. OK, so I'm not exactly rich, never have been, but I have been lucky enough to be able to have a reasonable amount of disposable income throughout the years. What is it about Americans and consumerism? It seems to be the American way, for sure. BUY! BUY! BUY! Accumulate stuff! MORE! We have it drilled into our heads via television, newspapers, glossy magazines, and the like since we become old enough to know that if one box of cereal gives you a toy, then MORE boxes of cereals yields MORE toys! And therein lies the American mentality....MORE TOYS! With the stock market and peoples' tempers on edge during the last couple of months, I daresay not many people have escaped the wrath of getting bit in the rear by the very economy that used to feed us. Maybe it's a long needed correction. I do believe that it is. We have been living so high on the hog as a nation for so long, that it was likely inevitable we should take a dive and subsequently "take stock", so to speak, of our lives and what really matters.
So now, finally, I start up a retirement account (20 years behind the curve), get life insurance, and start worrying about what will happen to those I will eventually leave behind. The hi-def LCD TV, the semi-new car, the toys, the "stuff" suddenly don't seem so important anymore. So I will cut corners and buy more generic and store-brand foods. I thank my lucky stars that I have the money to buy food and still live comfortably, not really worry about prescription costs, and have a good life. There are so many that don't. There are so many Americans who were living on the brink before this financial crisis, for whom these past couple of months have meant ruin. There are too many people who do go to bed hungry, become sicker without their medications, and who have their lights shut off because they simply cannot afford the electrical bill. Indeed, there are those unfortunate ones who have lost their homes. No matter whose fault it is - the crooked banks, the greedy consumers, the dishonest CEOs of top companies - there are millions of people who are suffering so much more than I. I really have nothing to complain about. I really didn't need more toys and stuff, anyway. I already have too much. I do know this - this "crisis" has made me take a long, hard look at my spending habits and come to the conclusion that I can and must do much better.
Sure, it's going to be painful, but it could be so much worse. In a strange way, I am glad for the dive the stock market has taken. I hope I am not the only one who is changed for the better by this, that I am not alone in my changed way of thinking. Of course, as an American, I still covet things and have an urge to keep up with the Jones'. But now, I realize there are more important, more lasting things in life.
How has the latest financial crisis affected you and your family? Have you experienced a change in spending and saving habits? Do you, as I do, think this is actually a new beginning of better things for our nation?
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Ernie - good points, all. I daresay you're better off without her. Just think how much worse it could be for you now if you still had that hanger-on around. BTW, the "semi-new" vehicle I mentioned is a 8-year old (going on 9) Buick that was a previous lease car which had 19,000 miles on it when I bought it. I say "semi-new" because my previous Buick lasted for 12 years, so this one is still relatively new to me, and is going to have to last me a good while longer. We are also living in a house within our means, by no stretch of the imagination a mansion, but a step up from the 26-foot travel trailer I lived in for nearly 4 years prior while working day and night to get the best credit rating I could muster up and making meticulous plans for the building. Still, things are good. I can honestly say I have never HAD to go hungry (unless self-inflicted by another crazy diet) and can afford to go the doctor and fill prescriptions. I think that those who live less honestly or less scrupulously will probably get what they deserve in the end. Those that live the best life they can while giving to others in spirit and body will be the true profiteers in the end. Maybe a karma of sorts. I think there are a great deal of us who are on the right track after all.
October 29, 2008 at 2:03 a.m.Good points, Sugar, but I have to offer an alternative viewpoint.
October 28, 2008 at 11:01 p.m.There are those of us who grew up on spending less than we make. We qualified for a nearly $200K mortgage but bought a house for less than half that. We've lived pretty well, having been to several countries, but save 30% of our salaries. We could have had the new his and hers Lexus every four or five years but drive a six year old paid for Jeep instead. Over the last year we've lost close to 25% of our net worth in a downard spiraling stock market and seen my dreams of an early retirement go south for two, three, four, maybe more, years.
On the other hand, my ex, for whom I paid two years of college training after we divorced, who quit a decent job placement position and quit school after eight months as soon as the settlement agreement was signed and who is, as I write this, $20K in debt on her credit cards and having our kids ask me for legal advice on how to expidite her parents' estate, has lost nothing. She hasn't held a job in twenty plus years and has no intention to screw with that record in the foreseeable future but instead plans to be "rescued" again by her parents' foresight to save and invest. Sadly however, her father's company stock, amassed over 35 years with his company, has in the interim since he passed away, lost 30% of its value. The only hurt she's experienced in this mess is that her "bailout" won't be nearly as lucrative as she had hoped.
Fortunately though she plans to vote for Obama so I'm sure she'll be fine.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained - or lost.
Ernie
Gotcha, Pilot. You are so right. We have been going through grandmother's house, cleaning out, and will soon go through dad's. Will be having a ginormous garage sale soon. We have been so blessed, and continue to be. I hope that when people get over the shock and pain of late, that they will do the same, and "take inventory" as you say, and realize that the most precious gift they have is the ability to help others less fortunate than they. I hope my dream of seeing increased service through volunteerism and community activism will be able to really grab hold now in these times. People of all walks of life have so much to give to those who have so much less. Let this be a new dawn for America.
October 28, 2008 at 10:04 p.m.