Whether it is trying to “keep up with the Jones”, impatience, or just plain being spoiled, some of us will charge what we want rather than wait until we have the cash to pay for it. This mindset is a sure ticket to the poorhouse, and it’s wise to get off of this financial merry-go-round immediately.
The baby boomer generation has definitely had it better than almost any other generation in history. The reason is that the parents of this generation had it so tough going through a World War and the depression, and they were determined that their kids not want for anything. So when the “little pink house with the white picket fence” was purchased and the kids came along, then the toys followed. As the baby boomers got older, many were so used to getting what they wanted, they continued in this vein, even if the money wasn’t there. So the credit card was born. Now many of us are all paying the grievous price…..
Of course, I speak in generalities, but I’m sure you get my drift. Wanting something and having to have it now can cause all sorts of problems. Already mentioned is the debt crisis, with credit card balances through the roof, but there are other issues as well. A major issue is appreciation of that certain product that is purchased. Maybe it is a car, a new flat-screen 3d TV set, or a fancy vacation. When we can walk out of the door to our house and get what we want, even if we don’t have the money for it today, trouble awaits.
Working hard for what you want and buying it with money saved and not borrowed seems to have more value. Of course it’s nice to receive gifts, but there is that certain something that just means more when we’ve worked hard to get what we want. The bottom line is that whatever it is we’ve saved up for and purchased, we just seem to appreciate it more. We realize the blood, sweat and tears it took to get that certain item, and hence the enhanced respect for it.
Maybe it’s going to take a severe depression for the pendulum to swing back the other way. I hope not, but at the rate the economy is going and America’s trillion dollar charge card habit, it certainly seems headed that way.