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24 signs that you're a mega-consumer

Posted Apr 14 2008, 07:35 PM by Karen Datko
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Do you automatically think that "budget" is the name of a rental-car company? Chances are you have a problem with spending.

A post by Ron at The Wisdom Journal identifies 24 signs to look for to determine if you're a mega-consumer. He said he was inspired to write the post after his kids noticed that someone they know has four yard sales a year and asked, "How much stuff do they have?"

Another sign: "You cannot fit anything else in your garage -- and you don't even have your car in there."

Ron isn't writing about people who have so much money that they never have to worry about how much they spend. He's speaking to those who spend and don't know where that money is coming from.

These are folks who "go to those free time-share weekends and fall for the spiel," have tons of clothes but never have anything to wear, and have already spent their tax rebate check even though it hasn't arrived.

Other signs: "You have HSN and QVC on speed-dial." "You evaluate every purchase in light of its monthly payment, or what your limit is on Visa, or which credit card you're not late on." "Your motto is, I came, I saw, I wanted, I bought."

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Comments

 

Do you believe that being "green" is environmentally friendly?  It's not!  I have seen first-hand the waste produced by recycling; it is perhaps worse than the by-products of initial production!

Perhaps "green" refers to your state of knowledge on the subject.  You are entitled to believe what you like, and you will.  I dare you to research for yourself, instead of believing everything you read and hear and see via the media.

gforceforever (Posted 04.16.08 11:03 AM ) Report Abuse

I love the eviromental sheep ......we must conserve, go green, less toilet paper while the fat cats that are telling you to go green are sending empty planes back because they are not nice enough and having their kids pick up people from jail in ferrari's. What a country let the dumbing down of America Roll. Im going to drive my SUV and use copious amounts of toilet paper and oil..........Amen

GO Green Yeah right..... (Posted 04.16.08 11:04 AM ) Report Abuse

I wanted to read about the 24 signs, etc.  I didnt want to link to a half dozen sites to read the article.  Is this some kind of marketing ploy?  Spare me

Ned Graham (Posted 04.16.08 11:05 AM ) Report Abuse

Hey there's something wrong with the link to the article - I get a message that "this account has exceed it's CPU quota."  

PB (Posted 04.16.08 11:10 AM ) Report Abuse

Most of it realy boils bown to marketing, blurring the line between needs and wants.  The credit card companies and the wal-marts of the world hire psychilogists at 6 and 7 figures a year to tell them how to blur and change the line of wants to needs.  After all: Tickets to the ball game $60.00, Game Program $5.00, hot dogs at the ball park $12.00, The Memories -  Priceless!!!!  Priceless to them at 12 figures a year of interest a year and debt to you.  Do we really a full garage!

Q (Posted 04.16.08 11:10 AM ) Report Abuse

America has been brainwashed into consumerism using the techniques developed by Edward Bernays,  nephew of Sigmund Freud.

Watch the series called Century of Self available at Google video which goes into depth as to how this all came about

jokesonyou (Posted 04.16.08 11:13 AM ) Report Abuse

hey Jane,

SHUT UP!

Dan (Posted 04.16.08 11:16 AM ) Report Abuse

I haven't even found the article yet.  I also have doubts about the blog.  How many ads do we endure that say buy in order to read an article about the ills of mega-shopping?  And then we give our email address in order to receive emails asking us to buy and subscribe.  Would someone define "sucker" for me.

Bob (send your email to my junk folder) (Posted 04.16.08 11:16 AM ) Report Abuse

See WallStats (dot) com for a Death and Taxes poster that breaks our tax dollars down regarding where it all goes.  You may be shocked, but then knowledge is power.  Go get knowledge.  What you don't know can and will hurt you in the end, literally!

gforceforever (Posted 04.16.08 11:17 AM ) Report Abuse

A few posters have already mentioned it but this mega-consumer epidemic is largely encouraged and reinforced by the structure of the US economy and the policies of the pro-business government.  

For starters, by the fact that the Federal Reserve banking system has held interest rates so low and has failed to accurately detect and fight inflation, it doesn't really make economic sense to save money.  Money you save today will have less purchasing power this time next year, including the interest earned by keeping it in the bank, because the inflation rate is higher than the interest rate banks pay.  So, it makes more financial sense to spend your money that save it.

Secondly, our entire capitalist economy is predicted on the need for someone to buy all the stuff produced here.  If people stop buying stuff, the economy will collapse.

jason (Posted 04.16.08 11:18 AM ) Report Abuse

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