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It's not that hard to escape the vast majority of advertising. But I think culture is a much bigger part of it. My friends tend to be fairly frugal/easily conte
by ericd 7y ago
It's not that hard to escape the vast majority of advertising. But I think culture is a much bigger part of it. My friends tend to be fairly frugal/easily contented, and I find it pretty easy to be the same way, probably partly as a result. If we were competing with each other to have the coolest car/home/boat/whatever, I imagine it would be a lot harder. Fortunately, we're all pretty unimpressed with people who try to show off by being spendy, and so we're all pretty frugal, and invest our money in assets instead of buying nice things. I think if the broader US had a culture more like that, we'd have much more savings.
- geodel 7y agoYou made a great point. Though my friends are not like yours. However I consistently keep reminding myself that I can't and don't need to compare/compete with their expense level. Other thing that keep me grounded is thinking about earning potential and not just total earnings. Things may be going good for now but it can stop sooner than I expect.
- ericd 7y agoYeah, I don't know how common my situation there is. Absent that, I think what you're doing (trying to keep mindful) is a good way to stay the course.
- mlguy456 7y agoWho is smarter: someone who was frugal, saved a lot of money, retired and died or someone who kept spending everything, got whatever he could get for the money, retired and died with 0 in savings?
- ericd 7y agoUnless they can predict the future accurately (I don't know anyone who can), the first guy. The second guy had a lot of potential scenarios where he was destitute for the 10 years before he died. Also, the second guy probably didn't do the world any favors with his resource footprint, given equal earnings. As a parent, I kind of care a lot about that.