Some people prefer to drive a "pimped out" leased car meanwhile living with their parents with not a penny to their name. Others will spend money on all kinds of gadgets that they will never use. Some mayinvest and some may travel, while others may just have a weakness for shoes. We are a consumer nation that lives in credit, so things we own are seldom ours. The house and the car belong to the bank as do the student loans and credit card debt at 18% apr. Smart. I once did a budget for a friend (and frequent commentor on my blog) and established that he spends $30K more than he makes. While the excel formula was wrong, I think it illustrates my point. Yet, when you're young you want to have the nice clothes, shoes and car. You want to go out and you want to have the latest "smart" phone to text your friends this evening's itinerary. Oh, and if you still need a place to live and food to eat then maybe the latest louboutins, benz and starbucks each morning just aren't for you. And since we are going down this dark, gloomy road, what happens if you lose your job, or your partner? You can't sell the apartment, 5 series and manolos. Yes, I'm being dramatic. That's what I do. I am also an accountant and a planner.
I love my Louis (whis is worth $150 more than last year) and I don't yet own Loubutins while rocking Manolos and Lorenzis. My car was nice 5 years ago when I bought it and not so nice 2 years ago when I sold it. I don't have a problem going out and don't remember the last time I couldn't go somewhere because I was broke. There are plenty of "nice" things that I'd love to own and many "exotic" places I'd love to visit. My bank account isn't suffering despite the pitfalls of the economy. I'm always the one to lend a friend a dollar or a thousand, yet somehow at the end of the day after working for 15 years, not missing a single social outing, dressing well enough to constantly receive compliments, owning an apartment and a car (yes, the radiator blew up), I'm still cheap. While many people my age are either knee deep in debt, living paycheck to paycheck or not working at all, I'm blogging about what most people don't want to talk about. Well, that's not entirely true, people want bling, everyone wants blings, few people understand the sacrifices. And maybe there's 1% or 10% that were born with a silver spoon, most people even the richest of the rich had to work for it.
Whether it was an idea that turned golden, a career that took off, a talent that was discovered or a deal that was sold, it happened partly through luck and mostly through hard work. I wish everyone to reap the benefits of their own hard work - it makes the Choos that much more comfortable, the Infiniti drive better and the apartment, "home".
The thoughts I get when I leave work at 7:30 on a very unproductive day. :) hmm, maybe it'd be nice to be a trophy wife. I could get bored, of course, of constant pampering, luncheons, auctions & fundraisers, beautiful houses & cars and a very shallow existence without any real friendship or love.
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Hmmm...weird to be the first one to comment. There are many people who wouldn't budget, but there are plenty of people who live happily w/out making millions.... It all depends as to what your needs are... are the LV bags so much better then their Chinese copies?? Does it really matter what car person drives, as long as it gets you from point A to point B w/out breaking... I mean with current gas prices its cheaper to ride a train, or abuse your friends. Are almost every day social outings that important? I don't think so... It all depends as to what your priorities are and not really buying into all the advertising hype
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteAs usual, you've missed my point. My post has nothing to do with the materiality of the items mentioned, but more so with people living beyond their means.
Regarding LV, if you can't afford the real thing, don't wear it. That's actually in regards to many things.
When I was buying my 1st car, all that mattered was to get from Point A to Point B. I'm not looking to get my 1st car anymore and I want a bit of luxury and a lot of performance. Luckily, today, I work hard and I can afford to drive something better than a hoopti. As for the train, try taking the "B" train on a Saturday. I don't like abusing my friends. Everyone has enough of their own problems/errands/etc.
Who's talking about everyday social outings? Given my schedule lately, I'm lucky if I go out twice a week, but either way you can't stay home all the time. We all have friends and constant birthdays and occasions and now that everyone is having kids, kid's birthdays and it's a never-ending celebration of something. Except, when it's your party, people can't make it or just don't bother getting a chachka, because "you will understand."
Your last sentence summizes the whole point of this post. Priorities are important, hype not so much.
A rather interesting post, before I go on replying, I do want to mention that the blog posts have become much more concentrated and bring up the desire to write a thoughtful response.
ReplyDeleteNow in regards to this post, I feel that this is a topic that is actually widely discussed especially amongst your friends and others your age. The only real problem is it's not discussed honestly. If someone buys something nice some people will always hate on them for it. Stop me if you heard this one "She bought a Louis and she works a secretary, her parents probably bought it, what a spoiled brat." now it might not be that exact comment but I think you see what I am saying.
In reality YES we all want nice things and these things are different for all of us, for some it's cars for others it's a watch or a pair of Manolos. The ability to buy these things depends on how much we really want them, I a think that if you really want something you should be able to save enough money and get it and in result one of two things will happen you will obviously be thrilled with the purchase at first and eventually it will become just one of things you own and in the long run only you can decide if it was worth it or not.
There will always be things that we want and some of them will always be just a little bit out of reach and while in most cases we don't need these things to live a happy and fulfilling life sometimes it's just what you need to make you feel just a little bit better about the routine of everytday.
We don't need money to be happy and it certainly wont but the most important things in life like health or the love of those close to you but it sure does make life a lot easier.
This response is a little bit cluttered and all over the place but since I am writing this at work one little piece at time you'll have to excuse me.
"Who ever said that money is the root of all evil, doesn't have any."
Woland,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. This is reminiscent of one of my favorite movies, Boiler Room, when Jim Young says, "[They say] money can't buy happiness? Look at the fucking smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby."
Yes, we all want nice things. Yes the more we make, the more we want. Yes, there's such a thing as inflation. Try buying jeans these days for $50 or a loaf of bread for a $1. But, there's a difference between a necessity and a splurge - a car is a necessity, a benz is a splurge and i can give a million examples. The only thing that I will say to that, if you can, why not? It goes hand in hand with my motto, "if you've got it, flaunt it and if not, for pete's sake, cover it up!"
Honesty, now that's a good topic . . .