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Post by alsomsknit on Sept 20, 2024 2:57:08 GMT
I see the Keeping up with the Joneses nonsense and appearances of wealth, not what if.
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Post by mikklynn on Sept 20, 2024 12:19:04 GMT
I look like that person with a too big vehicle and a too big house, lol. I'm widowed in a 3 bed/3 bath house. But, I have my son and 2 grandchildren visiting often from out of state. I actually added a wall bed to make enough room for them. Then my grandson moved in 2 years ago and will be here 2 more years.
I drive a 6 seat Tahoe. But, it was my late DH's work vehicle. It's paid for, so as long as I can still get up into it, I'll keep driving it. It sure is nice for my grandson's hockey gear!
I have downsized all my entertaining stuff. I'm just not that interested any longer. I got rid of my 24 place settings of Christmas dishes. I'm down to a smaller dining room table with 6 chairs. I used to have 20+ people for every holiday.
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Post by melanell on Sept 20, 2024 13:19:45 GMT
I think one of the things I love about my local Buy Nothing group is that more and more I see posts where people are saying "Hey, does anyone have a widget that I can borrow for one day/a few hours, before I go out an buy one?" And that seems to be working well for people. They don't have to buy items just to use once and then store away.
And that's something I try to get DH to think about as well. He'll want to do something around the house and his first thought is "Go buy a new tool!" So I've been trying to say to him "Do we know anyone else who might have this tool?" Especially if it is something we'll only use once in a blue moon.
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Tearisci
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,785
Nov 6, 2018 16:34:30 GMT
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Post by Tearisci on Sept 20, 2024 13:55:31 GMT
I generally just get what I need at the time I need it. I have a 7 year old car and live in a two-bedroom duplex where my only extravagance is a big tv because movies/games are my hobbies.
When I was married, I definitely had more than I needed. ExH was big on appearances so he had a Porsche and a BMW. We lived in a moderate 3 bed/2 bath house which I thought was great and he hated it because it wasn't in the 'cool' area to live.
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,938
Jun 26, 2014 17:47:08 GMT
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Post by peppermintpatty on Sept 20, 2024 14:01:00 GMT
While we could certainly afford to do things like that, we have never been a family that has to have the biggest and best just because someday we might need it. Our current house is a rambler. Yes, it has 5 bedrooms but only 3 are actually used as bedrooms. We spent time redoing our kitchen and bathrooms ourselves and always said we would buy a big colonial in the neighborhood but when they came on the market, they had all the original 1960's kitchens and baths and I had zero interest in doing that again so we stayed. Soon enough, DD went to college and then 4 years later DS went and now DS is a senior and DD is getting married and lives with her fiance near the University where she is getting her PhD. So we never bought that bigger house. About 10 years ago we realized that we didn't need that space and we RARELY have out of town guests. Yes, there are times when I would like to have more room but now it really is just DH and myself. DS doesn't have plans to live in this area when he graduates.
I have never been one who has to keep up with others. I simply don't care. I know people who buy a new house every 5 years or so. I cannot wrap my head around that one.
This is our second house. We will move one more time and that will be it.
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Post by melanell on Sept 20, 2024 14:48:54 GMT
I have never been one who has to keep up with others. I simply don't care. I know people who buy a new house every 5 years or so. I cannot wrap my head around that one.
I hate moving with a passion, so the idea of moving often if I didn't absolutely have to do so is a bit mindboggling to me as well. I guess I would definitely strive to be very minimalist if I was doing that!
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Post by chaosisapony on Sept 20, 2024 15:04:26 GMT
I have never been one who has to keep up with others. I simply don't care. I know people who buy a new house every 5 years or so. I cannot wrap my head around that one.
I hate moving with a passion, so the idea of moving often if I didn't absolutely have to do so is a bit mindboggling to me as well. I guess I would definitely strive to be very minimalist if I was doing that! Yes, this! I process real estate transfers every day for work and I see so many people that buy a new house about every two years. The trend boggles my mind! I hate moving with a fiery passion. It's awful. In 2 years my house doesn't even feel like home yet. I haven't really settled until like year 5. It's like people buy a place and just immediately start shopping for their next one. I do not get it at all.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 20, 2024 15:05:09 GMT
It's pickup trucks that represent this kind of over-consumption to me the most. They have gotten so ridiculously large that I am barely tall enough to be seen from the driver's seat if I were standing at the front bumper. The beds are much higher too which makes loading them more difficult. Then again I think a lot of people who buy them only need the bed just a few times a year.
Yes, I think this is weird too. Jeremy drives a pickup but it's because we tow our camper. If we weren't campers, we wouldn't have a truck. I'm also surprised by the number of people who drive SUVs in warm climates. Surely they don't need 4 wheel drive like those of us in snowy areas do. I've never understood it.
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Post by originalvanillabean on Sept 20, 2024 15:18:14 GMT
Interesting!
I read something the other day that helps with this, by asking 2 questions:
-Can I afford this? -Do I need it "right now"
I have to say, using this thought process I buy a lot less (laundry detergent, soap, panty items, etc..) as I tended to buy more and before we needed.
We really wanted a lake house and planned to get a larger one (at least 4 bedrooms) but we wanted our families to visit us and enjoy the lake, without knowing if they would. Ultimately we decided not to b/c just because we wanted everyone else to enjoy to lake like we did didn't mean they actually would.
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Post by Merge on Sept 20, 2024 15:30:46 GMT
I think one of the things I love about my local Buy Nothing group is that more and more I see posts where people are saying "Hey, does anyone have a widget that I can borrow for one day/a few hours, before I go out an buy one?" And that seems to be working well for people. They don't have to buy items just to use once and then store away. And that's something I try to get DH to think about as well. He'll want to do something around the house and his first thought is "Go buy a new tool!" So I've been trying to say to him "Do we know anyone else who might have this tool?" Especially if it is something we'll only use once in a blue moon. Years ago we had friends who lived in a different neighborhood but set up a kind of tool co-op in their cul-de-sac. Each household had and maintained certain things for the group - they had like two lawnmowers between six families, one leafblower, a couple of trimmers, and then the one guy who was super handy was the keeper of the tile saw and other things that you only use once in a blue moon. I was always very impressed with that but couldn't imagine doing it myself. These days we tend to hire someone who already has the tools rather than buying the tools ourselves.
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Post by hop2 on Sept 20, 2024 16:07:13 GMT
So basically, we've been conditioned to think of every conceivable use we might have for something, then assume we'll definitely do enough of those to warrant buying the biggest version of something available. And we truly believe we need it. Do you see the size fridges being sold now? We have smaller families, and tend to shop more often than say our grandparents might have gone shopping, yet our fridge needs to be 3x the size of the one Grandma had. Why do we suddenly need this massive fridge? I know the ads show me things like putting a massive sheet cake in there. (How often do I do that?) Or a full party size pizza box. If I just had a party wouldn't that box now be partly empty? Why does the whole thing need to go in the fridge? And to touch on something in the food thread, this isn't about judging/shaming/etc. It's just about wondering how/why this has happened over the years and how much larger yet will everything be 2 decades from now if we keep being steered the same way? Fewer & fewer people were familiar with other ways of preserving things - canning, salting, sugaring, drying, fermenting, dehydrating etc. In addition, we build tighter houses/buildings with better windows, insulation & wrap but we then don’t take into account airflow or air exchange so we have a more difficult time with some of these home processes than there used to be in older buildings. They had different sets of issues then than we have now. Canning can add a great deal of humidity to a space that isn’t ventilated. Yeah you might open a window but depending on where you live the smells can generate complaints from neighbors. Lack of air flow & air change can affect drying foods. So not only do people need to relearn these processes we need to learn how to do them in a modern setting. That is why if you go find an old book on a food preservation process you might find you have to make some adjustments because we live differently now. We depend on refrigeration where past generations did not. Fermentation is one of the processes that has been changed by refrigeration quite a bit. I doubt your great great grandma was able to keep a sourdough starter in her fridge to go on vacation as people do now.
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