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I don't know about you all, but I'm having the sudden urge recently to buy more stuff (perhaps due to great summertime weather?). I feel like I need to get a new car (Lexus, BMW, etc.) and a couple of new watches.
For those who are successful at doing so, how do you fight off that hyper-consumerism tendency? Some advice I've read are to move to a non-affluent neighborhood, marry someone more frugal than you, etc.
One of my worst nightmares is to end up raising a spoiled teenager in my house .
I would much, much, much rather have financial SECURITY than "stuff." And security only comes from paying off debt and regularly putting money away for the proverbial rainy day (or in my case for my retirement, which is 15-20 years away).
I mostly have all the "stuff" I need, although I do buy some things that make life more comfortable ... e.g., it looks like we will have high 80s/low 90s with high humidity in my neck of the woods for the next week, so it's time to buy another window air conditioner for a room that lately I'm in a lot. A whopping $120 at amazon for the model I've bought before and really like.
I don't know about you all, but I'm having the sudden urge recently to buy more stuff (perhaps due to great summertime weather?). I feel like I need to get a new car (Lexus, BMW, etc.) and a couple of new watches.
For those who are successful at doing so, how do you fight off that hyper-consumerism tendency? Some advice I've read are to move to a non-affluent neighborhood, marry someone more frugal than you, etc.
One of my worst nightmares is to end up raising a spoiled teenager in my house .
What in the world does weather have to do with buying stuff you don't need? Go spread a blanket on the grass and enjoy the sunshine. That's free.
As to how to fight off the consumer tendencies ... Live under your means. Stop listening to the media and to your peers who say you have to buy (whatever).
And for the teenager, learn two simple phrases. And get earplugs.
"No."
"Go get a job."
You do it by spending time reflecting on values in the context of an uncertain future. Your money and things can leave you in an instant, and you don't know when your time is up...so what is left in the final analysis that you can count on for meaning and worth in your life?
I don't know about you all, but I'm having the sudden urge recently to buy more stuff (perhaps due to great summertime weather?). I feel like I need to get a new car (Lexus, BMW, etc.) and a couple of new watches.
For those who are successful at doing so, how do you fight off that hyper-consumerism tendency? Some advice I've read are to move to a non-affluent neighborhood, marry someone more frugal than you, etc.
One of my worst nightmares is to end up raising a spoiled teenager in my house .
Start going through all of the material possessions you have now and sort it all for a garage sale.
That should keep you from buying more material items.
Once you get all the clutter and useless crap out of your home it helps you make the decision not to purchase more clutter and useless crap.
I don't know about you all, but I'm having the sudden urge recently to buy more stuff (perhaps due to great summertime weather?). I feel like I need to get a new car (Lexus, BMW, etc.) and a couple of new watches.
For those who are successful at doing so, how do you fight off that hyper-consumerism tendency? Some advice I've read are to move to a non-affluent neighborhood, marry someone more frugal than you, etc.
One of my worst nightmares is to end up raising a spoiled teenager in my house .
I do occasionally think about having a new car, but I'm sure I won't buy one. Buying a new watch wouldn't occur to me because I hate wearing one on my wrist. Fortunately, the stuff the Joneses have has never bothered me. I enjoy knowing my money is there if I need it, but I don't want to need it if I don't have to.
I once read the reason storage units are so popular is people can put stuff there and have room at home for more stuff. One thing different about me is my mother had no interest in having fine china, crystal and sterling silver, so the serving type possessions I grew up with were ordinary. I didn't have the desire for such things either. I've been a guest in homes which have all those things and I know which knife goes where, but I'm glad I don't have to bother with any of it. My interests lie in wanting a nice easel, plenty of paint and canvases.
I think it's helpful to really look at your own feelings when you feel an urge that you think is born of envy/competition/judging self and others. Is that the feeling you want to operate from, or pass on to your kids? There is nothing wrong with buying something you want if you can afford it. It is, in my opinion, personally corrosive to buy something knowing you want to compete with other people (or even an anonymous public) or be judged enviable by others, or judge yourself as "keeping up" with whomever. The mercantile environment around us, the media soaking, is everywhere, and it's subtle and can get inside your head. It's on us to fight off the indoctrination that encourages us to spend and operate from a very shriveled place in our spirits.
ultimately, noone cares about what you have...noone
if you like cars or "stuff" and you buy it because you like it, then great
however if your accumulating "stuff" because your neighboor just got new "stuff" or you want people to see your "stuff" then you just have a mental disorder
I could care less about keeping up with the Joneses because they are up to their ears in debt and I am not, they live paycheck to paycheck and I do not.
Just wait until the Joneses try to retire and need to get jobs as walmart door greeters giving out handifat scooters.
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