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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: 3,250
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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: 3,990 
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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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Post by melanell on Sept 21, 2024 12:07:43 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. So true! And that kind of thing can cause other issues as well, depending on the area. We used to build our houses differently based on the environment around them, but now we build houses pretty much the same no matter where they are located and try to force them to work in the environment in which they are built. Which is partly why we're so heavily reliant on AC across much of the country. And partly why some homes have moisture/mold problems as well. |
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Post by melanell on Sept 21, 2024 12:13:46 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. That's such a neat idea. I have seen that done locally at a community garden, where a shed on the property holds tools anyone can use, but the concept you are describing really helps individuals with larger items, too. Plus I'm sure it helped foster a sense of community.  I've started seeing libraries loan out items as opposed to only books & periodicals more and more as well. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 21, 2024 14:59:21 GMT
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. That's such a neat idea. I have seen that done locally at a community garden, where a shed on the property holds tools anyone can use, but the concept you are describing really helps individuals with larger items, too. Plus I'm sure it helped foster a sense of community. I've started seeing libraries loan out items as opposed to only books & periodicals more and more as well. Yes! The "library of things." We have that in the larger library branches here. I love it. |
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Post by katlady on Sept 21, 2024 16:55:00 GMT
We used to build our houses differently based on the environment around them, but now we build houses pretty much the same no matter where they are located and try to force them to work in the environment in which they are built. Which is partly why we're so heavily reliant on AC across much of the country. And partly why some homes have moisture/mold problems as well. I don't think this is entirely true. A lot of it comes down to cost. Here in So.Cal., and other parts of the SW, we build a lot of stucco homes because our climate is dry and stucco is relatively inexpensive. The insulation in our homes is not as heavy as insulation in homes built in colder climates. The builders save on putting in the cheapest insulation they can because our weather is not as severe. We don't have basements because our frost line is so shallow that foundations don't need to be deep. Builders can get away with just a slab and not having to dig into the ground very far. And then we have earthquake standards, like bricks have to reinforced and homes bolted to their foundation. So, if money was no object, it is possible to build homes that don't need extra AC or heating. But, to the builders, that cost outweighs the benefit in many cases. And the temperatures have gone up in recent years. 20 years ago, we only needed our AC about 10 days out of the year, usually in the August-September timeframe. Lately, we've been turning on the AC as early as July. We do try to hold out as long as possible before turning it on. The past week has been nice and it is great to once again turn off that AC and let the cool breezes come through. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 21, 2024 18:04:25 GMT
I think katlady is right. I've never been to Texas but when they had that big winter storm a few years ago, I was totally surprised by how many people had burst pipes and how poorly their power lines did with it. It seemed to me that the construction down there has to be different than Michigan because even though we do have a storm every once in a while where we lose power, what happened down there is just Tuesday in January for us. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 21, 2024 18:27:01 GMT
I think katlady is right. I've never been to Texas but when they had that big winter storm a few years ago, I was totally surprised by how many people had burst pipes and how poorly their power lines did with it. It seemed to me that the construction down there has to be different than Michigan because even though we do have a storm every once in a while where we lose power, what happened down there is just Tuesday in January for us. Yes. Most homes in Texas don't have much, if any, pipe insulation. Instead we have radiant heat barriers in our attics to help keep the temperature down. We have our power lines above ground for reasons no one understands. Money, most likely. It's a problem not only during a winter storm but every time we have a tropical storm or hurricane (or derecho, now). Houston has been AC-dependent pretty much forever. The city was basically a small town until the invention of air conditioning. The climate has never been livable and it's only gotten worse. |
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Post by librarylady on Sept 21, 2024 19:06:54 GMT
We went against the trend when we bought our current car. We were going to get an SUV that seats 6--just in case--and decided to get the smaller car. I convinced DH that renting the larger car every 4 years was a plan.
As it turned out my sister has loaned us her car every time DS visited.
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Post by Texas Scrap on Sept 22, 2024 18:57:33 GMT
So for me it is about shifting priorities and generally moving toward "less is more." This resonates for me. We have always been thinking about the long term, so while sometimes I wanted new furniture or what ever, we also really wanted to retire early and feel like we would have financial security. So we lived in the same first house for 13 years and now this one 13 years. Both drive cars with over 100K miles. Nice cars, but cars that have been very useful, even with changing needs. And, I think what you need, want, what aligns to your values also changes. We are new empty nesters. We have more than the space we need, but college kids are in and out, one will prob be home for a bit after graduating and we love this house and it’s paid for. So while the upstairs is mostly unused while they are not here, the rest of the house is perfect for us. And when they are in town, we use every bit of the house. Over almost 30 years of marriage, I can look back and have very few to no regrets over things I DID NOT BUY. There are things I would like to do to our yard and home, but I am very content with things as they are. I love that we are in a place of financial security and I’d rather have that than more stuff. I think this is a very personal topic, though, as personal values feed into spending mentality as well. I really just don’t need a whole lot to be happy and I am grateful for that. I would say over my life I have ebbed and flowed in buying more than I need in some areas. When I was working and at in person workshops, I would buy much nicer clothes as I was presenting in front of 250 ppl. But in the past 4 years my clothing spend has been MUCH less and on different things. I do think as I age, I recognize what is a valuable purchase (to me) and what is not. I try not to buy things for the short term and I will spend more on an item if it will lasts longer. |
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Post by melanell on Sept 22, 2024 21:02:23 GMT
We used to build our houses differently based on the environment around them, but now we build houses pretty much the same no matter where they are located and try to force them to work in the environment in which they are built. Which is partly why we're so heavily reliant on AC across much of the country. And partly why some homes have moisture/mold problems as well. I don't think this is entirely true. A lot of it comes down to cost. Here in So.Cal., and other parts of the SW, we build a lot of stucco homes because our climate is dry and stucco is relatively inexpensive. The insulation in our homes is not as heavy as insulation in homes built in colder climates. The builders save on putting in the cheapest insulation they can because our weather is not as severe. We don't have basements because our frost line is so shallow that foundations don't need to be deep. Builders can get away with just a slab and not having to dig into the ground very far. And then we have earthquake standards, like bricks have to reinforced and homes bolted to their foundation. So, if money was no object, it is possible to build homes that don't need extra AC or heating. But, to the builders, that cost outweighs the benefit in many cases. And the temperatures have gone up in recent years. 20 years ago, we only needed our AC about 10 days out of the year, usually in the August-September timeframe. Lately, we've been turning on the AC as early as July. We do try to hold out as long as possible before turning it on. The past week has been nice and it is great to once again turn off that AC and let the cool breezes come through. You're absolutely right. I was thinking about that from a different perspective and didn't even think of those things you just pointed out, despite having heard about some of them before. Thanks for pointing that out. |
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AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,090
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Post by AllieC on Sept 22, 2024 23:18:10 GMT
We had quite a few comments when we built our house 5 years ago. We had a 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 living area house with a pool and wanted to downsize as it was only the 2 of us at home. We built a 3/2/1 home and it is perfect for us. We split the 4th bedroom on the design to make a really large 2nd bedroom and big walk in pantry. The main comment we got was about guest bedrooms (my husband and I have separate rooms & the 3rd is mainly for my granddaughters stuff/office setup) and how we would need a second living area. Well we have had guests stay over a couple of times in that 5 years and as we have a tv in each of our bedrooms if we want to watch something separately we just do that. Guests stay in my husbands room.
We also build a large undercover patio area with tv, outdoor kitchen, fridge etc & it has a high bar table, servery from the inside/out, dining table for 8 and a lounge setting. We use it at least 6 months of the year so for us this for us was more of a priority than an indoor second living area.
I just say to people, we built to suit us 360 days of the year, the other days we work it out.
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Post by Zee on Sept 22, 2024 23:33:28 GMT
We had quite a few comments when we built our house 5 years ago. We had a 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 living area house with a pool and wanted to downsize as it was only the 2 of us at home. We built a 3/2/1 home and it is perfect for us. We split the 4th bedroom on the design to make a really large 2nd bedroom and big walk in pantry. The main comment we got was about guest bedrooms (my husband and I have separate rooms & the 3rd is mainly for my granddaughters stuff/office setup) and how we would need a second living area. Well we have had guests stay over a couple of times in that 5 years and as we have a tv in each of our bedrooms if we want to watch something separately we just do that. Guests stay in my husbands room. We also build a large undercover patio area with tv, outdoor kitchen, fridge etc & it has a high bar table, servery from the inside/out, dining table for 8 and a lounge setting. We use it at least 6 months of the year so for us this for us was more of a priority than an indoor second living area. I just say to people, we built to suit us 360 days of the year, the other days we work it out. What do you mean by "second living area"? Like a living room? I agree that probably no one really needs two. When I had a "formal" LR and a casual one off the kitchen, I turned the formal into a library. The other had the TV and that's where we hung out. I kind of liked having a dedicated library but I ended up donating tons of books when we moved. |
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Post by librarylady on Sept 23, 2024 0:15:53 GMT
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. [/quote]
Not all SUVs are 4 wheel drive.
I have one, in a warm climate and it is not 4 wheel drive.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Sept 23, 2024 2:24:22 GMT
I'm in a hot and cold climate, I'm not sure what that has to do with having an SUV? I drive an SUV (small one) because I need something bigger than a sedan to haul stuff and we don't have a truck.
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Post by katlady on Sept 23, 2024 2:35:12 GMT
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. SUV's come in all sizes, from compact to large. We have a smaller SUV, only sits 5, barely, and is not 4-wheel drive. We got it for the bigger space to carry things in versus a sedan. An SUV today is like the station wagon of the past. |
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,117
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Sept 23, 2024 2:54:30 GMT
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. Not all SUVs are 4 wheel drive. I have one, in a warm climate and it is not 4 wheel drive. [/quote] I wouldn’t say we live in a warm climate but it’s rarely snowy either. SUVs are common for the size rather than driving a mini van. Or another big reason- PNW is pretty outdoorsy- Dd3 is single and has an AWD SUV for her adventures- lots of hiking, backpacking, needing to haul paddle boat, etc. I think it’s interesting to consider SUV equals cold climate only - they are great for schlepping things and people around. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Sept 23, 2024 3:14:13 GMT
I tend to go the opposite direction (buying less/smaller) and it ends up biting me in the butt more often than I’d like to admit. I’ll buy the minimum I think I’ll need or use only to discover it’s something I really, really like and then end up not being able to get more because it’s discontinued or sold out especially if I was waiting for it to go on sale or clearance before I bought the initial items in the first place.
For example, I saw some shorts on sale at Costco last year for under five bucks a pair. I think I bought two pairs because I wasn’t sure if I’d like them or not. Turned out I loved them and when I went back to get more they were all gone in my size and preferred color. I was able to get another few pairs by ordering online but it would have been better to just buy 5-6 pairs in the store in the first place because they had a huge pile of them at the time and it would have just been so much easier.
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Post by Zee on Sept 23, 2024 7:36:31 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. SUVs and 4WD aren't just for snow. I have a few friends who live on very rural mountain roads that my car has trouble getting through and if it's rainy, forget it. I take DH's pickup for that. Also people like to take their Jeeps mudding. I don't personally, but it's definitely fun to be along for the ride. They're great for camping, for towing a camper, for when we visit family in winter, and for our event shows we do (to fit all the stuff). My car just isn't always practical and I don't want a van. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Sept 23, 2024 12:25:13 GMT
SUVs and 4WD aren't just for snow. I have a few friends who live on very rural mountain roads that my car has trouble getting through and if it's rainy, forget it. I take DH's pickup for that. Also people like to take their Jeeps mudding. I don't personally, but it's definitely fun to be along for the ride. They're great for camping, for towing a camper, for when we visit family in winter, and for our event shows we do (to fit all the stuff). Yeah, I get all that. Do you really think these exceptions are the real reasons a lot of people choose SUVs? Let's explore this comment. I think this may be dancing around the point I was trying to make. If you (general) need cargo space, why don't you want a van? I have owned two vans and three SUVs. Vans have far more cargo space than an SUV. With 7 people in our van, we still had enough trunk space for luggage for like a 4 day vacation. My sister's 7 seater SUV? Has virtually no trunk space with all seats up. In addition, they really are a lot roomier and more comfortable to ride in if you have more than 4 people. |
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Post by Linda on Sept 23, 2024 12:47:15 GMT
chiming in on the SUV question
Our family car is an SUV (crossover actually) and it replaced a mini-van. No we don't need 4wd and honestly I'm not sure if ours does or doesn't have it. It seats 6 which is helpful when all of us are together (5 adults) and can hold big IKEA boxes with the seats folded. DD's camping gear fits in easily even with the seats up and it'll fit her mountain bike with just the backseat down. We road trip and it easily carries us plus luggage/cooler/etc... And it has a higher tow capacity which we do use regularly (we have a trailer but it's also towed a large Uhaul) than the minivan we were trading in
And it was priced comparably to a minivan of the same year/mileage with fractionally higher mpg. (we bought it pre-owned as we have all of our cars).
That said DH also drives a smaller commuter car with better mpg when it's just him or just him and DD. It's technically a 4-seater but that's really 2 adults, 2 kids not 4 adults - DD17 CAN sit in the back but I'm not flexible enough to.
DS32 also has an SUV - he needed a vehicle same day in a specific price range with tow capacity and he preferred that it seat at least 5 with cargo space for masny of the same reasons we did. He's a big guy (6'3" - mostly in the torso) so driver's seat space was a factor. An older (1998 I think) Suburban was available and ticked those boxes.
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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? 
