We know it better as “keeping up with the Joneses” or “lifestyle creep,” but an 18th Century philosopher lived it and wrote about it. French philosopher and writer, Denis Diderot, live most of his life as a poor man barely scraping by, until he came into significant wealth, for him, when he sold his book collection to Catherine the Great of Russia. With his new wealth, he came into a new scarlet robe, and discarded his old robe. However, once he had a new, fancy robe, Diderot began to compare it to all of his other belongings and wanted his other belongings to match his new robe’s class. He wrote about this in his essay “Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown.”
Materialism influences every single one of us, but it is up to you to keep it contained. You can keep it under control or let it spiral out of control. Today, we have limitless options for things we want to buy, but we also have a wide array of prices and qualities to choose from. Should you get that $1400 iPhone or that new $1900 Samsung smartphone that folds? Or what about the huge 85”, $3000 TV? Yes, the picture is awesome, but is any TV really worth $3000, let alone $13,000? If you wait a year or two, the prices on these new gadgets will be a fraction of what they are today. And if you buy any of these items on a credit card and don’t pay it off, the price goes up…..a lot.
You could also look to do store financing for the phone or TV instead of your credit card, but then you’re increasing your fixed monthly expenses. Conversely, you could buy a new Motorola smartphone for less than $300 or a smaller 55” TV for $320.
Why is this important? What it all really comes down to is realizing we are influenced by what we have and what others have. And, believe it or not, any and all purchases you make influence your future. The amount you can save for an emergency. The amount you can save for a dream vacation. The amount you can save for retirement.
I’m going to close with a great quote that I hope will make you look at your stuff and think. I’ve heard Doug Casey say, “I’ve never seen a hearse with luggage racks.” You can also find similar lyrics from George Straight in his song “You’ll be there.” Don’t let your stuff own you. Make sure you own your stuff. Now, BEFORE we get back to ‘normal’, is the time to think about what you want your future to look like.
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