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but this is also a great topic for the holier than thou to appear out of the woodwork and make disparaging comments on poor people and those on public assistance.
Not being on public assistance gives someone the right to criticize those who are and spend their money on the latest expensive gadgets.
it's true that we're not taking the government's money to help support our own habits, but this is also a great topic for the holier than thou to appear out of the woodwork and make disparaging comments on poor people and those on public assistance.
My family were immigrants and we were also on food stamps and welfare when we first came to the US. He wasn't proud of being on welfare and food stamps and worked 2-3 jobs, made all of us work summer jobs and taught us to save. You would think that seeing something like that with your parents would change the course of your life and your kid's future. I would not want to see my own kids go through what my parents went through for us and it taught me a valuable lesson. I think that some people just really don't care.
Using Bankrate's calculator, $1,445.99 financed on a credit card with 28% using Interest+1% of balance yields a $48.20/month minimum payment. Of course that pays off the balance in 169 months and incurs $2,657.11 of interest alone. But it does illustrate how it's possible to buy gadgets for not much up front.
Yeah, its possible if you don't mind being ripped off.
These are illustrations of the sense of entitlement that has taken over our society. People think they should have whatever they want with no effort whatsoever. If other people have something nice, then they have a right to have it, too.
These entitled people will never stop to think about the hard work and self-denial that goes into being able to afford nice things. They will ignore the fact that the people who can afford these things spend years going to school to get a degree or learn a trade, tolerate unpleasant work environments, work very hard to move up the career ladder, discipline themselves to save money, etc., until they afford to buy themselves nice things.
Now, there's no such thing as living within your means. Everything is about luxury fever and instant gratification.
It especially saddens me to watch young people modeling this behavior. Years ago kids understood that they had to work to earn the money to get nice things. They used to want to shovel snow, rake leaves, or do babysitting to make money. Now, they look at you like you're crazy if you suggest that they get a job and save.
But Marie -- all you have to do is watch TV to see this behavior in full force. There are TONS of "reality" shows where the most wretched behavior is REWARDED. Bridezillas get a free honeymoon. 16 adn pregnant gets pics in People and followed by paparazzi! Well -- they're STARS.
But then again -- a show about goody two shoes doing the right thing would be boring, wouldn't it? Hmmm... just ask Earl Hamner who made a fortune off the Waltons.
But Marie -- all you have to do is watch TV to see this behavior in full force. There are TONS of "reality" shows where the most wretched behavior is REWARDED. Bridezillas get a free honeymoon. 16 adn pregnant gets pics in People and followed by paparazzi! Well -- they're STARS.
Yes, confirmation that it doesn't pay to do the right thing.
It frightens me to think about the future of our society.
Is there anyone here who makes decent/good money and STILL can't afford or see reason to spend money on Apple products, or hell- Uggs and The North Face jacket (which I swear you must not be able to own and wear one without the other) I make pretty good money, but to me it seems ridiculous to spend 150$ on a pair of boots and another 150-200$ on a jacket.
Hm... I live in a metro suburbs and I often see janitors and fast food workers flashing high end phones with plans that run 3 times as much as what I pay for my Virgin Mobile phone. I can't see myself spending $1000 a year on a cell phone service, so I have to slowly shake my head when people working close to minimum wage spend that much on a phone service. But it's their money, they can do whatever they want with it as long as they keep paying their bills. It's actually kind of funny seeing pretty much the same critical responses in threads about poor people wasting money, and the same critical responses about well off people wasting money, while pretty much no one complains about 'middle class' wasting money as if being middle class suddenly gets you free pass to do anything.
Going back to the original question, someone else already put it nicely, most of these people cannot afford to make an investment in any real assets that would multiply over the time, many of them cannot even afford to buy a home, or a new car, and at the same time our society puts an enormous pressure to fit in (which is another absurdity in itself - everyone is unique, yet everyone needs to fit in), so all they can do is try and mimic everyone else by buying stuff, be it expensive jeans, or snickers, or latest tech gadgets that give them something to talk with other people, an opportunity to fit in. And if you think about it, a new phone or a tech gadget is a lot less expensive than a downpayment on a home, so all said and done, that tech gadget stuff is relatively affordable.
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