tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post6317604676424968148..comments2023-11-05T04:18:45.549-08:00Comments on Formerly Fun: How Much Is Enough?formerly funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04915882376165190052noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-21931159990667694982008-10-11T17:28:00.000-07:002008-10-11T17:28:00.000-07:00That is a fabulous idea. I'm one of the thrifty p...That is a fabulous idea. I'm one of the thrifty people, but I still find myself heading to Walmart or Target and ending up with a new pair of shoes that isn't necessary, a new hoodie, or 8 books from the library sale that I could just as easily have checked out. I don't use my credit card because I've seen what that can do to people, but I still know it's there.Captain Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11922101498348137121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-44301431665259538952008-10-10T09:02:00.000-07:002008-10-10T09:02:00.000-07:00I am so ashamed of myself lately regarding finance...I am so ashamed of myself lately regarding finances. We don't live outside our means, necessarily, because we don't use credit cards. But I'm woefully ignorant about budgeting and saving. Sigh. <BR/><BR/>And I so very easily get swept up into the "keep up" mentality. It sucks.Gypsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14327359141716141220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-57162050522998785812008-10-10T05:48:00.000-07:002008-10-10T05:48:00.000-07:00I keep hearing a radio commercial about getting a ...I keep hearing a radio commercial about getting a home equity loan to take your family on vacation!<BR/><BR/>WTF? <BR/><BR/>Put up your house for a vacatin?<BR/><BR/>That type of advertising should be illegal.Sandihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04643493643365324737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-23394512014604317112008-10-10T02:38:00.000-07:002008-10-10T02:38:00.000-07:00great post, FF, and reminds me i need to do the sa...great post, FF, and reminds me i need to do the same. <BR/><BR/>mainly, i´m completely rethinking false-homeownership as something to aspire to when in fact you do not own the home, the bank does. <BR/><BR/>total recklessness. the wheel is coming back around though. I think it will take a rude awakening for people to realize they can´t just spend, spend, spend. Especially when the banks and credit card companies begin to say, "NOPE".Bluestreakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07350399171607670916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-3599011884023300802008-10-09T18:31:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:31:00.000-07:00There is something about you that just blows my mi...There is something about you that just blows my mind. <BR/><BR/>You're one of those people. You know? The good ones. <BR/><BR/>Not that I didn't know it before or anything, but I just thought you should fucking know.Rassleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12370070146085209687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-81372671056433415022008-10-09T17:01:00.000-07:002008-10-09T17:01:00.000-07:00Fantastic, FF! You'd think that in a nation with s...Fantastic, FF! You'd think that in a nation with such a strict Christian background, we would have learned something from the cautionary tale of Mammon. Maybe not. <BR/><BR/>The analogy that you make of materialism as religion is dead on and I've been sucked in to it in the past as well. It's really more on an addiction than a religion. An addiction to plastic crap that we just do not need. We're going to find ourselves buried in plastic trash and debt before too long. <BR/><BR/>It's not just the U.S., either. Same situation or worse in the UK and Aus.A Free Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01038930031019179647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-11456324279040355892008-10-09T14:15:00.000-07:002008-10-09T14:15:00.000-07:00rassles-i totally agree. i don't buy my kids shit...rassles-<BR/>i totally agree. i don't buy my kids shit when we go to the grocery store or target. put it on your christmas/birthday list I tell them. my 8 year old gets $8 every other week, his 'paycheck' for his share of household chores. A fourth of that $8 goes into his savings account for big purchases for later on like computer, car, space camp(he wants to go). We match him dollar for dollar on savings so if he gets a twenty from grandma, he's incentivized to at least put some of it away. The rest is his to spend. And there are no 'advances' on allowance. One of the few arguments I've had with hubs is when he let the boy buy something he didn't have enough $ for and said we'd front him the next few weeks allowance. I remember chastising hubs, great, let's teach him how to use credit at seven. Geez, this could be another post. Anyhow, I say start early when it comes teaching about $ and saving.<BR/><BR/>mongoliangirl,<BR/>i was also in part raised by depression era grandparents and they taught me a lot about thrift. to me money was about choices so i liked to keep my options open and that's what saving was to me. good for you for staying away from the trappings of credit. it sucks sometimes though b/c if you decide you want it, it's hard to get, even if you are very fiscally resposible. i remember buying my first new car at 26, i had $4500 to put down and no credit and it wasn't easy getting a loan.<BR/><BR/>mountain lover-<BR/>I thought the avg was low to but for instance, my husband and I carry no debt besides our home, cars, school, etc paid off. So someone else is carrying our share on top of their own. It's difficult, I get the 'I wants' sometimes, I try to stay away from the mall b/c it just makes me think I need stuff that I don't. We had a yard sale recently and I was a little disgusted at myself for the things I was getting rid of that I'd hardly used, it wasn't that much but it all adds up and I thought of all the chachas I waxed to buy stuff that someone else was now buying for cents on the dollar.formerly funhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04915882376165190052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-87114721319162441252008-10-09T13:27:00.000-07:002008-10-09T13:27:00.000-07:00This is the very reason why I despise the current ...This is the very reason why I despise the current plutocracy of government in bed with corporations. Credit cards are now the opiate of the masses and we're busy keeping up with the Joneses and buying more and more crap. We're too distracted to notice that we're working more hours than ever, taking less vacation than ever, two-worker households have become a necessity rather than an option, and that a handful of people are making billions off of this whole scam, while the middle-class has become increasingly worse-off than ever. <BR/><BR/>I was kind of shocked to hear that the average credit card debt was THAT LOW.<BR/><BR/>There was an interesting program on PBS a while ago called <I>Affluenza.</I> If I wasn't stupid with linking today, I'd direct you there.~Mountain Lover~https://www.blogger.com/profile/17691252732393167228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-5166767849650382832008-10-09T13:06:00.000-07:002008-10-09T13:06:00.000-07:00I am so glad I was raised mostly by my depression ...I am so glad I was raised mostly by my depression era grandparents. I've never seen the inside of a mortgage or auto loan, and have only had one credit card my whole life. We own our home, car, truck, barn, land, horses, etc...I'm not being all 'new agey' when I say we are very satisfied with what we have. I don't think this makes me better, but someone who got to hear a different voice. I like that voice and hope I keep listening.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-75824512652805865972008-10-09T12:29:00.000-07:002008-10-09T12:29:00.000-07:00I have been getting into so many arguments lately ...I have been getting into so many arguments lately about this very thing, you have no idea. <BR/><BR/>The fact of the matter is, luxuries are becoming necessities, and that's not just because they're so desirable, it's because companies are counting on us to be luxurious. <BR/><BR/>I blame it, one hundred percent, on credit cards. <BR/><BR/>So to keep the economy going, we need to start educating about the concept of consumerism. I'm not saying we should tell little kids to buy shit if they want it, but a lack of consumer education is such a large factor in this whole crisis, because people just don't understand how shit works, they don't understand saving, they don't understand that you can't just keep putting shit on your credit card because it exists. <BR/><BR/>Sorry. Rant. I get frustrated sometimes.Rassleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12370070146085209687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-48159375848851848002008-10-09T12:27:00.000-07:002008-10-09T12:27:00.000-07:00karitag-you're killing me, that is unbelievable.de...karitag-<BR/>you're killing me, that is unbelievable.<BR/><BR/>derfina-<BR/>me too, i have had my trips to Target for razors that turned into $200 shopping trips for stuff I could care less about 2 weeks later. It's a widespread disease, they don't call it consumption for nothing. I myself have to force myself to walk away, fromt he girls clothes, pillows, shoes,... I have to consistently ask the question, do I really need this? More than a vacation, more than a day off?formerly funhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04915882376165190052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-63452511859508922522008-10-09T12:23:00.000-07:002008-10-09T12:23:00.000-07:00You make a good point. As much as I want to have ...You make a good point. As much as I want to have a less is more attitude, I am as guilty of tithing at the local malls as anyone. My husband is considering getting a shoe appraiser to come in if things get too tight!derfinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11146774907696083985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8748884779372791877.post-71801116768599152492008-10-09T12:11:00.000-07:002008-10-09T12:11:00.000-07:00Not to add to your fire, but are you keeping track...Not to add to your fire, but are you keeping track of where the bailout money is going?<BR/><BR/>http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1539KaritaGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00276357406276660898noreply@blogger.com