There is a fantastic line, in a fantastic song, "Omissions of the Omen" by Matthew Good Band, that goes like this: "Somewhere around the world, someone would love to have my first world prolems." Stop and think about that for a second. We are a society of have everythings, and yet we act like a bunch of have nots. Everyone has problems in life. Your house needs a new roof, your job sucks, your car broke down, etc,etc. But how many people on this planet have no roof, no job, no car?
For those of you that don't know me, I am very well off. A lot would say rich, or wealthy. I have a house that is warm, safe and dry. I have so much food, some of it gets thrown away. I can turn on one of many taps in my house and have drinkable water. As a matter of fact, I have so much clean, drinkable water, I water my grass with it. I have an education I didn't pay for. If I get hurt, a vehicle will come pick me up in minutes and take me to a hospital, where I can stay until I'm better, for free by the way. I have a group of family and friends around me that would go to the ends of the earth for me because they love me and care about me, and they know I would go to the ends of the earth for them. I have a carring and extremely thoughtful wife.
Yes, I am rich, very.
Living in North America, a very large percentage of the population has most or all of the things I just listed. Things that people in third world countries don't have.
While we go to the store to replace our cell phone, because it's "old", other people die of malaria because they can't afford bed nets, or simple medicine. As we fill the gas tanks in our SUVs, people walk miles, just to find drinkable water. We ronovate our houses, while people pray they get enough rice to feed their family.
My point here isn't to make you feel guilty, or give to charity (but if you feel the urge, please do). My point is, we are never happy with what we have. I think there are a few reasons for this. One can be traced back to caveman days. Cavemen knew to take as much as they can, because the opportunity might not come again. Eat as much as you can, because who knows when the next meal will be. Hoard as much as you can, it might be a long winter. Find the biggest, warmest and driest place to live, because the elements can be harsh. Because of this caveman thinking, we are trained to have the newest, best, biggest and most of everything. A second reason for us wanting more, is because of society. The TV and radio tell us, the old phone, car, house, clothes, etc we have is trash. We need the new better product. It turns into a status thing. The best caveman must drive the biggest SUV, have the newest house, and wear designer clothes.
I have good news though. I know a secret, that the corporations, government and stores don't want you to know. You don't need stuff to be happy. Money doesn't make you a better person. It doesn't make pepole like you. (not decent people anyhow) I can prove it too. Think of the happiest times in you life. Maybe a great day of snowboarding. Maybe the day you met your future wife/husband. Maybe a gathering with friends. Maybe a milestone in your childs life, when they learned to walk, or talk. Maybe a holiday. Now look back at those times. Why were you happy? What were you enjoying? Did it matter what brand of clothes you were wearing? Did it matter how new you phone was? Did it matter what model year your car was? No. It mattered who you were with. People seem to have the urge to fill a void with new toys and gadgets, cars and houses. They go into debt, and work long hours to buy these things, most of which are in the garbage can a month later. And these things never seem to make them happy. They are happy for 3 seconds until they find out, there is a newer better model available. Then they are depressed until they can afford the new thing.
It's time to wake up from this nightmare of never ending stuff, and realize they key to happyness is in the people around you, or maybe even in a hobby on your own. The two happiest families I know have very little. They share a car. Rent part of a house, or own a small outdated rancher. They don't have the newest toys and gadgets. They spend there spare time doing things as a family. Cheap things. Going to the park. Going on a hike. Going for a drive. Visiting friends. Finding time to do those simple things together makes them very happy people. They love life. We see people that are wearing designer sunglasses, brand name shoes, talking on the newest of phones, getting into a Escalade and we are envious. Why? We assume by having those things he must have money, (which might not be true at all) and by having money he must have a more fulfilling life. But he might work 50 hours a week, and have a broken home, with a wife sleeping with the pool boy, and children that have gone astray due to their parents never being involved in their lives. Maybe the guy driving the Escalade is looking at a happy family, piled in their 1993 Dodge Caravan, laughing all the way to the park for a picnic. Maybe the guy in the Escalade would trade his Blackberry, 4000 sqft house and Gucci shoes, for a weekend with family and friends that cared about him, kids that respected him, and a wife that loved him for something other than his money.
Suround yourself with good people and you will be happy. Don't buy something because it's trendy. Buy it because it will provide hours of fun. Don't eat somewhere because it's expencive. Eat somewhere because you like the food. Don't buy a car to impress your neighbor. Buy a car that you think is the most economical and best fit for you. Don't listen to music people expect you to listen to. Listen to music you like. But most of all, when you see douchetard in his Navgator, BMW or Hummer, don't be jelous of him. Feel sorry for him. He is just trying to buy the happyness you have found for free.
Please listen to Omissions of the Omen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiwrQZ4mVys
Also please watch the Story of Stuff http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Dig up stupid.
You know what really grinds my gears? People that don't understand money. Or maybe they do understand it, but figure if they ignore their common sense, they can buy more stuff. I've heard that candians, on average, spend anywhere from 114%-146% of their income. Is it just me that sees a serious problem developing? So if someone makes $40,000 a year, they are spending at least $45,000. How is that possible? Easy, they are digging a hole, from which I am affraid, a huge percentage of them will never escape.
I know of a person, who had a small, cheap pickup truck. It was paid for in full. The owner rented a basement suite, but wanted badly to buy a condo. She decieded on a plan to get a down payment for the condo. She would trade her small, economical, paid for truck in on a brand new Ford F150. After the five years of payments were done on the F150, she would sell it, and have money for a down payment on a condo. So going that route, she would buy a $30,000 truck, spend another 3 or 4 thousand on interest, and sell the truck in 5 years for probably $15,000.
Or lets say she drove her current truck for the next 5 years, and put the same payments she would be making on her new F150, into the bank. After 5 years, she would have $30,000, plus a grand or two in interest. What is a better down payment $15,000, or $32,000? Oh and lets not forget, after she sells her new F150, she has no vehicle, so where does she get a new one? Not to mention the $32,000 down payment will mean she will owe less money on her condo to start with, saving her thousands more on interest, throughout the life of her mortgage.
My question is, is she really that dumb, or is she doing whatever she can to justify buying a new truck? If it's the latter of the two, who is she fooling? She is screwing herself out of thousands of dollars.
The other one that gets me is the car dealers that will consolidate your debt into a new car. "Bring in your creditcard debt, student loans, line of credit, debt owning on a current vehicle, and we will put you in a new car, and you'll have smaller payments!" Yippie! A free car! If you have a bunch of debt, do you really think buying a new car will solve your problems? Not only is all of your old debt still there, but now you owe for a new car. Not to mention the fact that now all of the creditcard debt and line of credit debt has been transfered, so you will probably rack those back up again.
People today seem totally content on spending every penny they can make, plus whatever the bank will lend them. People are addicted to spending. Most of the spending, is on stuff they don't need. Stuff that will be collecting dust on a shelf in three months, but they still have 9 months of payments left on. People keep borrowing against their mortgages to buy cars, and toys, and stuff. Every time they build another few thousand dollars in equity in their house, they pull it out and go on a holiday, or buy a bigger TV. How do you expect to pay off your mortgage, when you owe the same amount you did ten years ago?
It all starts early. If kids today make the wrong choice early on, it will haunt them for the rest of their life. A co-worker, who is just out of high school, and working full time wants to buy a Dodge Ram. Not a new one, an older one for $15,000. Again, he drives a small economical truck now and has no use for a larger truck, aside from the fact that he "likes" them. Right now, he lives at home, and pays very little rent. He doesn't make a lot of money, but because he lives at home, he has almost no overhead, leaving him with a fairly good amount of disposable income. So his plan is to take out a three year loan and buy himself a Ram. Within those three years, he plans to move away from home, to a basement suite. The major problem I see here is, in three years, when he is living on his own, he will have major overhead. Rent, cable, phone, internet, food, etc. Bills he doesn't have now. In three years he will have little, to no disposable income. How will he find the extra money to save for a down payment on a condo, or house? So he has a choice. He can spend the next three years paying for a truck he doesn't need, or he can spend the next three years, putting those, would be truck payments into the bank, so he has a down payment. If he buys the truck, I doubt he will ever be able to save a down payment due to the cost of living on his own. The long and short of it. Buy a $15,000 truck now, and he will never own property. It's harsh, but true. Of course he doesn't want to hear that, because he is trying to justify buying a truck. One purchase, early in life might screw you over for the rest of your life.
Where does this leave us? I see a serious problem forming. People are digging, deeper, and faster into debt than ever before. It can't sustain itself. We have already seen a small recession. People losing their houses and belongings because they were stretched to far finacialy. The banks couldn't collect their money, as people walked away from their SUVs and 4000 square foot houses. The government had to bail the banks out. People are going so far into debt, they will not ever get out. So what happens? Instead of handing money down to their children, they hand down debt. I don't know who is to blame. The banks for lending the money they know can't be paid back, the corporations for brain washing the public to buy stuff they don't need and can't afford, the salesmen, for telling people "it's not $30,000. It's only dollars a day!" or maybe it's the general publics fault for buying things, they know they have no right buying. No matter who is to blame, the road, the spendaholics are going down, is not sustainable.
I have one more point to make about consumerism. I've covered the fact that people are dumb enough to go deep into debt for brand names, useless electronics, gadgets, cars and other things to try to impress the neighbors, but I need to make a point, and I hope it will put a very positive spin on this sad situation.
Til next time...
I know of a person, who had a small, cheap pickup truck. It was paid for in full. The owner rented a basement suite, but wanted badly to buy a condo. She decieded on a plan to get a down payment for the condo. She would trade her small, economical, paid for truck in on a brand new Ford F150. After the five years of payments were done on the F150, she would sell it, and have money for a down payment on a condo. So going that route, she would buy a $30,000 truck, spend another 3 or 4 thousand on interest, and sell the truck in 5 years for probably $15,000.
Or lets say she drove her current truck for the next 5 years, and put the same payments she would be making on her new F150, into the bank. After 5 years, she would have $30,000, plus a grand or two in interest. What is a better down payment $15,000, or $32,000? Oh and lets not forget, after she sells her new F150, she has no vehicle, so where does she get a new one? Not to mention the $32,000 down payment will mean she will owe less money on her condo to start with, saving her thousands more on interest, throughout the life of her mortgage.
My question is, is she really that dumb, or is she doing whatever she can to justify buying a new truck? If it's the latter of the two, who is she fooling? She is screwing herself out of thousands of dollars.
The other one that gets me is the car dealers that will consolidate your debt into a new car. "Bring in your creditcard debt, student loans, line of credit, debt owning on a current vehicle, and we will put you in a new car, and you'll have smaller payments!" Yippie! A free car! If you have a bunch of debt, do you really think buying a new car will solve your problems? Not only is all of your old debt still there, but now you owe for a new car. Not to mention the fact that now all of the creditcard debt and line of credit debt has been transfered, so you will probably rack those back up again.
People today seem totally content on spending every penny they can make, plus whatever the bank will lend them. People are addicted to spending. Most of the spending, is on stuff they don't need. Stuff that will be collecting dust on a shelf in three months, but they still have 9 months of payments left on. People keep borrowing against their mortgages to buy cars, and toys, and stuff. Every time they build another few thousand dollars in equity in their house, they pull it out and go on a holiday, or buy a bigger TV. How do you expect to pay off your mortgage, when you owe the same amount you did ten years ago?
It all starts early. If kids today make the wrong choice early on, it will haunt them for the rest of their life. A co-worker, who is just out of high school, and working full time wants to buy a Dodge Ram. Not a new one, an older one for $15,000. Again, he drives a small economical truck now and has no use for a larger truck, aside from the fact that he "likes" them. Right now, he lives at home, and pays very little rent. He doesn't make a lot of money, but because he lives at home, he has almost no overhead, leaving him with a fairly good amount of disposable income. So his plan is to take out a three year loan and buy himself a Ram. Within those three years, he plans to move away from home, to a basement suite. The major problem I see here is, in three years, when he is living on his own, he will have major overhead. Rent, cable, phone, internet, food, etc. Bills he doesn't have now. In three years he will have little, to no disposable income. How will he find the extra money to save for a down payment on a condo, or house? So he has a choice. He can spend the next three years paying for a truck he doesn't need, or he can spend the next three years, putting those, would be truck payments into the bank, so he has a down payment. If he buys the truck, I doubt he will ever be able to save a down payment due to the cost of living on his own. The long and short of it. Buy a $15,000 truck now, and he will never own property. It's harsh, but true. Of course he doesn't want to hear that, because he is trying to justify buying a truck. One purchase, early in life might screw you over for the rest of your life.
Where does this leave us? I see a serious problem forming. People are digging, deeper, and faster into debt than ever before. It can't sustain itself. We have already seen a small recession. People losing their houses and belongings because they were stretched to far finacialy. The banks couldn't collect their money, as people walked away from their SUVs and 4000 square foot houses. The government had to bail the banks out. People are going so far into debt, they will not ever get out. So what happens? Instead of handing money down to their children, they hand down debt. I don't know who is to blame. The banks for lending the money they know can't be paid back, the corporations for brain washing the public to buy stuff they don't need and can't afford, the salesmen, for telling people "it's not $30,000. It's only dollars a day!" or maybe it's the general publics fault for buying things, they know they have no right buying. No matter who is to blame, the road, the spendaholics are going down, is not sustainable.
I have one more point to make about consumerism. I've covered the fact that people are dumb enough to go deep into debt for brand names, useless electronics, gadgets, cars and other things to try to impress the neighbors, but I need to make a point, and I hope it will put a very positive spin on this sad situation.
Til next time...
Friday, December 3, 2010
You Get What You Pay For...Kind Of...Not Really
So this rant kind of ties into the last rant, which will also tie into the following rant. As I've just mentioned, people like to buy stuff, a lot of which they have no use for. One of the reasons for this is popularity. Keeping up with the Smiths. A great way to do this is to buy whatever is cool at the time, regardless of quality, or price. I'm talking of course about brand name whores. Now there is a fine line between that, and spending more money to get a better product. "You get what you pay for". I agree with that phrase, sometimes.
Say there is a new pair of shoes coming out. They are made by a high end designer. You can only buy them in fancy stores downtown. They cost $600. Everybody is going to want them. Why? Because they can't afford them. It's a fantacy. If you find some extra money, or get a bonus on your pay cheque, or have room on your charge card, you just might be able to afford them, but not really. Anyone wearing them, clearly has more money than you, therefore is higher up the ladder of life, and must be a better person than you, right? So you have to have those shoes! Think of all the people who will envy you, and want to be you. You've made it in life if you can just buy those $600 shoes!
Now lets say Walmart gets the contract to sell these shoes. They are selling them for $34.99. It's the exact same pair of shoes, but you've lost the urge to buy them. Why? Simple. Now every redneck, trailer park trash, welfare, deadbeat can afford them. The shoes aren't a status symbol anymore. Do you want to be seen wearing Walmart shoes? Only people at the bottom of the social latter wear Walmart shoes, and you my friend, are much better than them.
So you see my point here? People are willing to spend $600 on a pair of shoes if they are trendy, but not $35 on the same pair if they are not.
I feel sorry for these people. They must have no self esteem. They are convinced people wont like who they are as a person, and feel the need to make up for it with designer clothes. A co-worker of mine, who is younger and likes going to night clubs, explained that it is important to him to wear expencive clothes when he goes out, because it makes him feel more confident in the clubs. If you can enter a club wearing a $100 Ed Hardy T-shirt, $120 jeans, and $200 shoes, it makes you feel like you are as good, or better than other people in the club, because you have money, or at least look like you do. But the problem is, what type of people are you going to attract? If you are looking to attract a member of the opposite sex, what type of person would it be? Someone that sees you wearing expencive clothing and thinks "clearly this person has a high paying job and money in the bank". So right off the bat, this person is interested in you for money. Not a good start. Not to mention, when the person finds out all you clothes are on your charge card, and you don't have a penny to your name, the gig is up. If you are not capable of going out and meeting people, and making friends doing so, you probably do need to change something, but it's not your clothes.
But every day we see it. People with $150 sunglasses, $500 purses, $100 T-shirts, and yes, $600 shoes. Now people will argue that you are getting a better product if you spend more money. To an extent, yes, but not like they think. Is the quality of a $5 pair of sunglasses different from a $30 pair? Probably. You will probably get a lens that is more clear and a frame that is a bit stronger. Is a $150 pair better than a $30? Probably not. Just like a $1.99 T-shirt probably will fall apart after a couple of washes, but a $10 one should last a long time, but $100 T-shirt is not going to last 10 times as long as a $10 one.
If your arguement is that you don't care about the brand name, you just want the better quality, how do you explain knock-offs? If people only cared about the quality of their $100 T-shirt or $5000 Rolex, and not the name on it, why would people make cheap knock-offs? Oviously people don't care about the quality, they want the logo on the front, and if they can get that logo for cheaper, even if it means it's lower quality, they will. You can buy knock-off Oakleys, Rolex's and Affliction T-shirts at a fraction the price, and lots of people buy them. They want to look like they are rich and important, even though they aren't.
It's up to you to decied whether the items you buy, you are paying more for, because they are better quality, or because it's got a brand logo on it. If there is a lot of knock-offs sold of that brand, you are probably buying it for the logo. Would you spend $500 on a Prada purse, if you were the only person that would ever know it was Prada? Probably not.
Some of the best shoes I ever owned were Adidas. They lasted forever and were very comfortable. I buy that brand of shoes regularly. They are about $60. Some of the worst shoes I have ever owned were Nikes, at $100 a pair.
You do need to spend a bit more money to get quality, but just because you are spending more money doesn't mean you aren't just paying for a logo and nothing else.
So let this me a message to all the single people. Next time you are out at a bar, or club, skip the losers wearing the Ed Hardy, Abercrombie and Fitch, Prada and Lulu Lemon. They have no money, or personality. Look for the well dresses people, without the brand name logos on everything.
Better yet, try meeting people not in a club.
Say there is a new pair of shoes coming out. They are made by a high end designer. You can only buy them in fancy stores downtown. They cost $600. Everybody is going to want them. Why? Because they can't afford them. It's a fantacy. If you find some extra money, or get a bonus on your pay cheque, or have room on your charge card, you just might be able to afford them, but not really. Anyone wearing them, clearly has more money than you, therefore is higher up the ladder of life, and must be a better person than you, right? So you have to have those shoes! Think of all the people who will envy you, and want to be you. You've made it in life if you can just buy those $600 shoes!
Now lets say Walmart gets the contract to sell these shoes. They are selling them for $34.99. It's the exact same pair of shoes, but you've lost the urge to buy them. Why? Simple. Now every redneck, trailer park trash, welfare, deadbeat can afford them. The shoes aren't a status symbol anymore. Do you want to be seen wearing Walmart shoes? Only people at the bottom of the social latter wear Walmart shoes, and you my friend, are much better than them.
So you see my point here? People are willing to spend $600 on a pair of shoes if they are trendy, but not $35 on the same pair if they are not.
I feel sorry for these people. They must have no self esteem. They are convinced people wont like who they are as a person, and feel the need to make up for it with designer clothes. A co-worker of mine, who is younger and likes going to night clubs, explained that it is important to him to wear expencive clothes when he goes out, because it makes him feel more confident in the clubs. If you can enter a club wearing a $100 Ed Hardy T-shirt, $120 jeans, and $200 shoes, it makes you feel like you are as good, or better than other people in the club, because you have money, or at least look like you do. But the problem is, what type of people are you going to attract? If you are looking to attract a member of the opposite sex, what type of person would it be? Someone that sees you wearing expencive clothing and thinks "clearly this person has a high paying job and money in the bank". So right off the bat, this person is interested in you for money. Not a good start. Not to mention, when the person finds out all you clothes are on your charge card, and you don't have a penny to your name, the gig is up. If you are not capable of going out and meeting people, and making friends doing so, you probably do need to change something, but it's not your clothes.
But every day we see it. People with $150 sunglasses, $500 purses, $100 T-shirts, and yes, $600 shoes. Now people will argue that you are getting a better product if you spend more money. To an extent, yes, but not like they think. Is the quality of a $5 pair of sunglasses different from a $30 pair? Probably. You will probably get a lens that is more clear and a frame that is a bit stronger. Is a $150 pair better than a $30? Probably not. Just like a $1.99 T-shirt probably will fall apart after a couple of washes, but a $10 one should last a long time, but $100 T-shirt is not going to last 10 times as long as a $10 one.
If your arguement is that you don't care about the brand name, you just want the better quality, how do you explain knock-offs? If people only cared about the quality of their $100 T-shirt or $5000 Rolex, and not the name on it, why would people make cheap knock-offs? Oviously people don't care about the quality, they want the logo on the front, and if they can get that logo for cheaper, even if it means it's lower quality, they will. You can buy knock-off Oakleys, Rolex's and Affliction T-shirts at a fraction the price, and lots of people buy them. They want to look like they are rich and important, even though they aren't.
It's up to you to decied whether the items you buy, you are paying more for, because they are better quality, or because it's got a brand logo on it. If there is a lot of knock-offs sold of that brand, you are probably buying it for the logo. Would you spend $500 on a Prada purse, if you were the only person that would ever know it was Prada? Probably not.
Some of the best shoes I ever owned were Adidas. They lasted forever and were very comfortable. I buy that brand of shoes regularly. They are about $60. Some of the worst shoes I have ever owned were Nikes, at $100 a pair.
You do need to spend a bit more money to get quality, but just because you are spending more money doesn't mean you aren't just paying for a logo and nothing else.
So let this me a message to all the single people. Next time you are out at a bar, or club, skip the losers wearing the Ed Hardy, Abercrombie and Fitch, Prada and Lulu Lemon. They have no money, or personality. Look for the well dresses people, without the brand name logos on everything.
Better yet, try meeting people not in a club.
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