Materialism
- Thread starter conjamuk
- Start date
Why the fuck would I care what other people think? If they're impressed by displays of wealth and shit then I probably don't want to associate with them.
Keeping up the jones is a great way to make your life miserable.
I feel you on that. I got the house speech as well on some stuff I've done. My wife really wants a house and I flat out don't want to be burdened with it right now. I think her deal is her family constantly tells her she needs one and I think it's silly to say you need a house. Then again everyone we're related too thinks we're rich because I make more then $30k a year and rich people are suppose to own homes or something herp derp.
If you have to go spend money go invest it. Don't be retarded and blow it on stuff that loses value.
Try explaining to people why renting in certain markets is so much better than owning. It's mind boggling the premium people put on home ownership.
Especially now, unless there's some real and tangible reason to own, like you want to homestead or you have a family. Otherwise, put that money into precious metals and buy a house in five or ten years after the dust has settled from the coming monetary melt down. That's assuming the dust does settle, and it's not radioactive. Otherwise, you would have been better off investing in spam and ammo.
Sorry, total buzz kill. I'm actually pretty optimistic long term. Carry on.
"“This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that’s what I had.” —Steve Jobs, 1982
best man
Nearly everyone who comes over to libertarianism goes through an evangelical phase. It eventually passes when you realize that you can't argue with people who believe things without ever considering how and where those beliefs come from. They don't possess a foundation of understanding you can address or refute.
For many people property ownership is but one of several of these "thoughtless" beliefs.
I don't couch surf, I just have a small apartment with only a few things in it. But yes, I'm not a fan of hanging out with more than 1-2 people at a time and I definitely don't do dinner parties and Sunday afternoon BBQs.
I'm in my mid-thirties and I've been this way forever. At this point in my life, I have a reputation with the people I know as someone who will "never settle down" and who doesn't want to get married or have kids. Which ironically makes meeting girls pretty easy.
It's not that I'm trying to live some "minimalist lifestyle", I just don't have any interest in most things that people spend money on. Anytime I buy a "toy", it always ends up in a closet somewhere, never to be seen again. Anytime I'm in a large house, I end up staying in one room of it 99% of the time. And cars, don't care about them... I put less than 2k miles per year on my car.
The "baller" lifestyle, or even the regular lifestyle of the Joneses, just seems like a whole lot of effort to me... and I have no desire to put effort into those things.
Most people balling out of control have no problem spending money on the finer things in life without worrying about their bank accounts imploding. It's not about keeping up with anything. When you make a lot of money you tend to scale up your lifestyle which reflects your wealth.
If you're making millions why the fuck wouldn't you want to drive a really nice fucking car? Or why would you purposely suppress what you could easily afford in real estate? Also, displaying your wealth will usually get you wealthier.
Minimalism FTW. I thought goals in life should be things at first, so I bought a condo, then another condo, bought a Porsche, a bike, and another car. I own none of it now, and have been that way for two years.
The only thing I put appreciation into was my Porsche, since it was my goal when I went into biz for myself. The only thing I spend money on that could be considered material is travel, but that is worth more than all the stuff people buy (excessive cars, bling, etc.)
I also think about general dialogue moving forward in life, and I think speaking about my time in Japan, South Africa or Azerbaijan will hold better than explaining how many stones are in my watch, or why I have 5 cars in my garage....that I rarely drive.
The only thing I put appreciation into was my Porsche, since it was my goal when I went into biz for myself. The only thing I spend money on that could be considered material is travel, but that is worth more than all the stuff people buy (excessive cars, bling, etc.)
I also think about general dialogue moving forward in life, and I think speaking about my time in Japan, South Africa or Azerbaijan will hold better than explaining how many stones are in my watch, or why I have 5 cars in my garage....that I rarely drive.
I don't think travel and experiences can be considered materialistic (unless you're spending $$$ for unnecessarily nice hotels I guess). I spend lots of money on food, travel, and experiences, but other than that (and my office), I don't really buy anything. Outside of business expenses I can't find a single charge on my credit cards over the past two months that wasn't food/experience/travel.
Because scaling up your lifestyle to reflect your wealth is silly and will make you more miserable. Buying a nice car - sure it's great for the first week and then the novelty wears off.
Buying a nice house - feels awesome for a week, then you're faced with the reality of home ownership. Having that huge mansion? Oh, suddenly, you're faced with bills to maintain it.
Giant boat? Time to pay a full-time crew.
When it gets to that point, your money controls you instead of the other way around.
You can argue with me all your want about it, but all the research out there on happiness and wealth shows that after a certain point, it doesn't matter.
What matters for happiness is spending things on experiences which others in this thread have eluded to.
I absolutely love my Escalade and I've had it more than a week
. I don't really drive much maybe that's why I still enjoy it as much as the day I bought it.
There's a flaw in your argument. My happiness is derived from achieving my goals. My goals are to earn enough money so I can buy a fleet of sports cars and a big ass house. What can go wrong?
I'll gladly learn from my mistakes in this case however. I don't understand why people are arguing so zealously about it. I didn't see you stopping me from clicking that SPIN link, because it certainly didn't bring any happiness or good experiences to my life.
I'll just cry into my Eiderdown pillows about having to pay my full time yacht crew.
LOLOLOL...
The rest of the post looked serious, but this part gave your trolling away.
Yea, what a horrible & depressing life it must be......
Better go work at mcdonalds, drive a geo metro, and live in a tiny apartment near the train tracks so I can achieve true happiness.