I was watching a show called "Airline" recently and watched as two passengers were refused entrance on to their flight. They had been drinking too much and were somewhat drunk and belligerent. The younger of the two people started saying he wanted his money back and was directed to the ticket counter to receive it. On the way, he made all kinds of drunken comments as the cameras followed. At one point, he saw a lady in a wheelchair and decided he wanted to make himself look good so he said, "You need some money?" He then proceeded to walk up to her, pull out a bunch of bills and hand her at least a hundred dollars. By the way that he was gyrating around, you could tell he felt pretty important. In his mind he figured giving away some of his money on TV would make him look wealthy. I mean, not just anyone can go around handing out money, especially when you work at a low wage job like he most certainly did. (By the way he was acting and presenting himself, he wasn’t running a boardroom, that’s for sure)
It struck me that this is one of the problems with some people. They are so convinced that it’s all about image that they will go to any lengths to try to pretend to be something that they are not. They spend too much money on frivolous items like new expensive cars, trips all over the world, designer clothes. You name it. They don’t do the quick math in their head that should tell them that they just bought something that will take 16 hours of work to pay for. If they are charging what they are buying, even less thought has to go in to the purchase.
I have to wonder if the current financial crisis will cause people to start considering what the value of a dollar is. As the crisis gets worse it’s going to be clear that cash is king. The more cash you have saved, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to take advantage of some of the huge bargains that will be coming. From an investment standpoint stocks are clearly on sale. In the consumer market companies are going to be offering lower prices and better terms for buying just about anything.
Agreed! People put too much stock into what they think other’s are thinking. That’s why I’m so glad I work from home, I don’t have to worry about looking good for anyone else (Mr Chiots doesn’t care if I wear my PJ’s to the office). I also get all of my clothes for 75-90% off, I refuse to buy a pair of jeans for $150 when I can get a nice pair for $15 on clearance.
I just sent in a bunch of investements, yeah, I love sales! I will only buy if it’s on sale.
It seems everyone is trying to keep up with the Jones these days. I live in a small town in Ohio and people seem to be trying to out do the next person wether it’s a bigger house a better car, or just flonting there money.
These people are obvouisly not contoius of there spending habits.
I agree completely with what you are saying. Money is the image of America. Designer clothes and expensive cars about sums it up. We all want a piece of something (Hummers are a great example of the need to feel better than everyone). I would personally like to retire to a quiet place for several years tucked away somewhere and live frugally. Unfortunately I have a while to go before I actually get there.
“He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.” – Benjamin Franklin