Why buy them everything? (boys, father, adult, brothers)
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I honestly think that's one of the reasons that my parents taught me "how to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". They lived through the depression and my mother's family was poor before the depression ever hit. She was one of the dust bowl kids, too. So many Americans have gotten, let's face it, lazy. They live like royalty, and so did many of their parents. They never learned how to do things themselves. You still hear people using the term, "menial labor jobs".
You've got these people who have taken out second and third mortgages on their homes, in order to upgrade things that have nothing to do with functionality. It's called, "improve your property to increase the value so that you can borrow more money against your home, or sell it at a huge profit". Uh oh....and then the housing crash! Now many of those homes are worth less than their purchase price and yet they owe more on it than they originally paid.
Remember when a house was just where you lived?....not a profit making endeavor? It was simply a place to raise your kids and grow old. How's that working out, America? You could replace your countertops with $400 worth of laminate, use cutting boards and take care of it....OR you could go out and spend $5-10,000 k for granite. Brilliant money management! You could buy a house and a piece of property.....OR for the same amount of money, (or more) purchase a condo (an apartment) and pay your mortgage and maintenance fees. Hmmm
You could drive your car until it dies....OR, you could buy a new one for $30-$50,000, because your neighbors got a new car. Ugh....amazing what people will do to themselves. Lose your job, lose everything....or go bankrupt and screw over everyone who was counting on that money you owed them, to support their families.
beachmel...Great post! I totally agree with you!...Things have been "off-kilter" for quite awhile now. I'm "with you" about the granite countertops and the never-ending push to "upgrade." Nobody wants to look "old-fashioned!" Heaven forbid!...We've become a nation of "followers!" And corporations definitely know how to manipulate the public. They know how to "play upon fears" or "stroke" someone's desire for "status."...I sold advertising for awhile and I learned all of the techniques. But I didn't stay in the field for long because it was hard for me to sell and design ads for businesses I didn't trust or "believe in."...Anyway great post! Thanks!
beachmel...Great post! I totally agree with you!...Things have been "off-kilter" for quite awhile now. I'm "with you" about the granite countertops and the never-ending push to "upgrade." Nobody wants to look "old-fashioned!" Heaven forbid!...We've become a nation of "followers!" And corporations definitely know how to manipulate the public. They know how to "play upon fears" or "stroke" someone's desire for "status."...I sold advertising for awhile and I learned all of the techniques. But I didn't stay in the field for long because it was hard for me to sell and design ads for businesses I didn't trust or "believe in."...Anyway great post! Thanks!
Thanks CA! Honestly, I do wish more people could watch those advertisements or home improvement shows and say, "Yes, I COULD go out and buy brand new furniture, OR I could pick up some clearance rack king size sheets and make some slipcovers, to change the look and get by with the old furniture for a while. I could get new kitchen cabinets, OR I could buy some stripper, stain and polyurethane and refinish my old ones, and pull the hardware and paint it. Heck, I could even paint them instead! I could have new kitchen cabinets for $100, and save nearly $10,000.
Seriously, I'm just blown away by the money people hemorrhage. My sister just had her drapes cleaned, to the tune of $400!!!! Are you kidding me? Do you remember when quilts were made from the backs of old shirts and the non-worn portions of old clothing?...when quilts were multipurpose items? You recycled good parts of clothing and made quilts. I have a sister-in-law who is always broke, they've nearly lost their home multiple times. She buys expensive "designer" fabrics at fabric shops, bought a $3,000 quilting machine and makes $300 quilts as gifts for people.
I'm sorry, I guess I'm just in that kind of mood today. Like you said, so many people in this world have become mindless, no-common-sense, no practical knowledge, robots, ruled by emotions and egos. It's hard to feel sorry for these people when they're whining about "how tough times are". LOL
Sadly, I never had the money to buy my kids "everything". But there was always plent of food, and we never went homeless, or had the lights turned off. This probably motivated them, my sons all work, bought their own cars, lived at home going to college. My daughter is away at school on scholarship. She does not have an I-Pad, or Nook, or any other fancy things. I recently bought her a new coat, her first in three years.
Sadly, I never had the money to buy my kids "everything". But there was always plent of food, and we never went homeless, or had the lights turned off. This probably motivated them, my sons all work, bought their own cars, lived at home going to college. My daughter is away at school on scholarship. She does not have an I-Pad, or Nook, or any other fancy things. I recently bought her a new coat, her first in three years.
Sadly, I never had the money to buy my kids "everything". But there was always plent of food, and we never went homeless, or had the lights turned off. This probably motivated them, my sons all work, bought their own cars, lived at home going to college. My daughter is away at school on scholarship. She does not have an I-Pad, or Nook, or any other fancy things. I recently bought her a new coat, her first in three years.
Thanks for sharing. It sounds like your kids have handled things really well.
beachmel...I have strong feelings too. Thanks for all you wrote...I used to make quilts out of scraps with my Grandma. I sure enjoyed the time we spent together "creating things" and talking etc...We probably sound like "doom and gloom" type of people to some of the younger posters on this thread. But it's just been sad to watch non-stop consumerism take over our country.
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