Consumer Culture

My response to a post on eCompanion for my sociology class:

Americans are very materialistic and it is partly why our economy is the way it is right now. Our eyes are bigger than our wallets so to speak. The media is constantly showing images of the lifestyles of the rich and famous and it is thrown in our faces through media, advertising etc... portraying to the general public that is it the norm for everyone to have luxury items, flat screen TV's, Ferrari's, nice houses and the best and the newest without having to work for it. The finance industry was irresponsible and greedy, they had personal interest in giving out more loans because they worked off commission: the more loans they lent out, the more money they made. So they starting giving loans to people who shouldn't have qualified for them and thus made it easy for the masses to start buying everything on credit. This sudden increase in money resulted in more spending.... because most people did not realize that just because you pay it back in installments, doesn't mean that the things you buy got cheaper in value or that they could buy more. So they spent more than they made trying to live up to this "cool" lifestyle shown on TV and we started to focus more on material things and our image to our peers than focus on more important things. There is a big difference between being able to BUY an item, and being able to AFFORD it.

Now we are starting to see the results of the irresponsible habits of our credit card-using nation and people will be forced to start watching how they spend their money and live more frugally or at least within their means. I was devastated when the economy first started down turning because it affected my own lifestyle significantly. To go from having the nicest clothes, the newest technologies, always eating out at the best restaurants 3 meals a day and traveling around the country to having to budget more and choosing between A and B instead of having both was really like having a sense of culture shock. Who was I without my things? .... it took a while and at first I thought "This is terrible..! The world is ending!" but now I think that this whole situation has really influenced me in a positive way. I've learned to focus on the more important things in life and appreciate what I have and not take things for granted and I think it's forced me to not only be a better person but also a happier one. It's also taught me an important financial lesson so that when the time comes that I do start working again and making a lot of money, I will know how to keep more of it! Many of my peers are extremely depressed and in a state of panic now (esp those in the financial industry) and the lessons that I've learned are things that a lot of people will have to start learning: stop putting so much emphasis on material things that money can buy (it is not the only thing that can make you happy) and spend wiser even if you are making a lot. Be able to distinguish the difference between what you want and what you need.

That concept ties into how to consume less. Before you buy anything, think about if you really NEED it. You don't NEED the newest ipod... you WANT it so that you can have the coolest new toy with an abundance of unnecessary features. If you're about to buy something on the spot (impulsive buy) stop yourself, give yourself sometime to think about it whether it be a week or a month.If you really need something, you'll probably still need it a little bit down the line so. By the end of that period, you'll realize that more than half the time you won't want it anymore.

:)