Has The World Gone Nuts? Or Am I Lost In The Dark Ages?

[Eamonn]

Pleased to report that OJ, passed his driving test. I think, that he thinks on some level that I'm going to give him my Explorer. This isn't going to happen.

He is doing a good job of trying to physic me out, He knows every kid in our area and what they drive. Matt has a older Jeep, I think he saved the money and bought it himself. A nice kid who was one of my Cub Scouts, joined Boy Scouts and quit when he was about 15. Is now a giant of a Lad who plays on the HS football team. Has a little brother who was in Cub Scouts, but quit to play soccer, he plays in the band.

Dave drives a Mercedes M. His parents bought it for him. I want one but it is out of my price range. Dave was a Cub Scout in pack 151, went on to Troop 150 and made Eagle Scout when he was 14. A nice Lad that one day I will recruit into a Crew, when I get the right Crew underway. But $38,000 for a kids first car??

OJ, went to Katie's sweet sixteen birthday party last October, her parents bought her a new VW convertible. Great Parents who are both RN's, they were my First Aid team when I was Day Camp Director. Little Greg went all through Cub Scouts joined Troop 160 but quit after about 18 months.

Linda has a new bright yellow Hummer. Her family own a local meat market, but her parents are separated. She comes around our place to watch the Steeler games. She has a great voice and I think she will join the Crew that we are starting with the local theater. There must be a lot of money in beef and processing deer that the local hunters bring in each fall!! But $62,000, that is a big price for a guilt trip.

Big Matt, is a super nice Lad but very mixed up. His step Dad is a cardiologist and they seem to move a lot. Matt dropped out of HS. He seems to have been fired from all the fast food joints in the area. I swear that he can smell when we are about to eat as he times his visits and is eating in our house more than I do. The guys love to go to his apartment and play video games on his 54 inch TV, that cost a little over $4,000.

I was at the club the other day and a Lady I know sat near me. I noticed that her handbag was kinda nice. I mentioned how nice it was she said that she collected them and this little number cost $900.00!!

$900.00 for a purse!! It wasn't even very big, she went on to say that matching shoes were about the same price.

I think that people can spend their money any which way they like. But I'm starting to question this "Timeless Values" idea.

OJ,is by the will of God an only child. I would have liked to have more children, but it just didn't happen. He was a complete surprise, we found out that he was coming when I had begged and borrowed every last penny that I could to start our business. Thank God for health insurance as without it the Doctor would have to repossess him in order to get paid.

We live a comfortable life style.I have been saving for his college fund for about 12 years. So I'm hoping that I am not going to get zapped too hard!! I like to think that our retirement funds are in good shape.

Our house is where we live, we are never going to be in Good Homes and Gardens. I enjoy spending time at home with Her Who Must Be Obeyed and I'm very aware that she is the very best thing that ever happened to me. We seem to grow closer as we grow older.

I am really pleased with the way OJ is turning out. There was a while in second grade when Sister Lucile, was phoning every night that I was worried. But he is a very happy and nice Lad, who seems to know where he wants to go and I am ready to help and support him in his long term goals. He wants to be a math teacher. I tried teaching and didn't make it, I just wasn't very good at it.

Everyone tells me that I am the worst person to have to buy stuff for as I seem to have everything that I need.

I am happy to see our house full of OJ and his pals, they know they are welcome and there is always another potato in the pot. I enjoy being out side with the dogs.

Some days when Her That Must Be Obeyed and I are home alone with no plans we buy a $10.00 phone card and spend hours calling people all over the world, just saying hello and catching up. We are happy just being home,sometimes not even talking. I read a lot and listen to a lot of music. She can spend hours doing her stuff, playing with old photos or going through old papers. I swear the best gift I have given her lately is a shredder!!

I suppose if she ever wanted a $900.00 handbag I would buy it. But she never would. One day I might buy a used Mercedes M. But by then OJ, will be wanting me to pick up my Grand-kids in it.

Them $900.00 handbags don't look like they would carry very many diapers.

Eamonn

[packsaddle]

The simple answer: Yes, to both questions. They're nuts! And I'm right there beside you. When my son got his driver's license, he was allowed to borrow the family minivan. We gave him the choice of that or my really beat-up '67 International pickup. Looking back on it he says it was humiliating but the only option. After he proved he could operate a vehicle responsibly, we found a very reasonably priced older I30 and he paid for most of it out of his savings. The luxury aspect of it made him nearly paranoid about making sure he didn't damage it (a hidden strategy on our part that seems to have paid off). So now our son is old beyond his years. Really old, come to think of it, maybe a bit scary for that matter.

 

My daughter, Holy Toledo! THAT will be a different matter but she'll get the same treatment.

Edited Part: In case you're wondering, her name is not Holy Toledo. (This message has been edited by packsaddle)

[OneHour]

No ... Eamonn, the world has not gone nuts ... it has gone the materialistic wayside. You and the rest of us are still in the Dark Ages of frugality. $900 purse? Heck, I still pace back and forth to talk myself out of buying new $20 pocket knife to replace my old worn-out one! But then again ... the old one is still very useful.

 

Ah ... my oldest is eyeing on my 2001 Honda Accord. By the time he is eligible to drive, the Accord should be primed for him! It should be 7 years old and about 90k miles provened! That car would be 8 years younger and 100k miles less than the Ford station wagon that I bought when I first learn how to drive and fix it at 16!

 

He has been telling me to use the family van on the weekend as much as possible to keep the mileage down on "his" Accord. By the way, there is a catch as well, he has to work to pay for the gas! His parents will pay for his insurance and that's it!

 

 

[SemperParatus]

Each day I consider myself so very fortunate for marrying that beautiful young woman 20 years ago, who has proven to be more frugal than I in spite of the resources we have been blessed with.

 

One day that $900 purse will appearing at a yard sale, marked for 50 cents.

 

 

[SWScouter]

I earn a good salary, live in a nice house, there is no lien on my truck and soon there won't be one on my wife's car either. I'm not extravagant but I like nice things and I tend to buy more on quality than price. I do spend time looking for the better deal. I'd have a lot of trouble plunking down $900 for a purse, even one for my wife.

 

Yesterday my son and I went through his closet and dresser pulling clothes that no longer fit him or that he just isn't going to wear anymore. He sure has a lot of clothes. There's less now but he sure seems to have a lot more than I knew of. I wonder if it is possible for my family to go a month without buying a single piece of clothing. My wife says the kids grow, so no; I can easily go several.

 

This weekend I was at an OA ordeal. There was a lot of neat lodge patches there. I'm not a big patch collector but there was a couple sets of patches that really caught my eye. I fretted over whether I should get them for most of the day. I figure for every dollar I spend on me, I need to match that for my wife if I want to keep the pain level low. I paid $80.50 for patches. I wonder what my wife will buy now.

 

I know how much money I make and how much I spend on mortgage, utilities and other bills. I know how my family and I work to live within our means and save for our future. I know how my family and I concern ourselves with being able to afford this or that large purchase and how it may affect our lifestyle. I think we're doing pretty good, better than most. Yet I see a lot of people with cars and toys and such that would be a big burden for us. I really wonder how they can do it. I imagine I could too if I didn't concern myself with those things I mentioned above.

 

SWScouter

[SR540Beaver]

E,

 

Yes, the world has gone nuts. My Dad was born in 1925 and grew up on a farm in Oklahoma during the depression. You made do with what you had and recycled or fixed everything. He was a Marine in WWII, so he learned even more on how to improvise with what you have. My mom and dad put a roof over the heads of four kids and there was always plenty of food on the table.....I'm living proof! As the family grew, dad built a den, master bedroom and bath onto the house. I don't mean that he had it built, he built it himself. Inside and out. I didn't always have the trendy clothes the other kids had. I didin't get a car. When I got my license, dad said I was welcome to drive the family car when it wasn't in use. If that wasn't good enough, I was welcome to get a job and he would co-sign the note. All payments and expenses were my responsibility. I bought the lady next door's little red '68 Dodge Coronet 440. On one hand, I abused it about as much as any 16 year old could, but on the other hand, I treated like gold. I paid every dime for it and I'd pay every dime for any damage or repairs. It taught me a great deal of thriftiness and responsibility that has lasted me until this day. By the time I was 28, I was making more money than my dad was after 30 yearswith his company. Even though I make what I consider a very decent living and own a nice home and new truck, I'm still so tight that you can hear me squeak. I don't use credit cards and the only money I owe is on my truck and my mortgage. I'm 48 and this is the first new vehicle I've ever bought for myself. I lived in my small previous home for almost 18 years before upgrading. Those values came from my dad and I'm doing my best to pass them on to my son. He pressures us a lot to have some of the same toys his buddies have and he gets some of them, but only some of them. He does know that no means no. He'll buy his own car and he'll pay the expenses. He will appreciate it more and care for it better than if it was just handed to him. I've got four more years to worry about it. I've seen too many kids who tear up brand new cars because they know daddy will buy them another one.

 

Yes, the world has gone nuts and the entitlement crowd is growing too large. Stick with the timeless values. You are not alone. Our sons and their community will be better for it.

[Prairie_Scouter]

There's a new development going up near where we live, with a big billboard that says "single family homes from the $400's". So, first of all, I think, "not in my lifetime", and second, "where will they find people to buy all those houses?". Yet, I'm sure I'll drive by in a couple of months and they'll all be sold. We live in a nice middle class (whatever that is) neighborhood. We all have kids; I'm putting away money for their college (as much as I can which I'm sure won't make a dent in the real cost), our retirement, and a new business I'm hoping to start on a shoestring. My neighbors all have kids, yet one neighbor drives a Jaguar, and the other drives a Lexus SUV. I've got a 15 year old car with 190,000 miles on it. I wonder how they do it.

 

Don't get me wrong. I make a decent living and we do have some nice things. But I see kids at the local high school tooling around in all manner of "out there" cars. No kid I know of can afford those kinds of "rides", so you know the parents are springing for them. And yeah, we know parents who give their kids cars for gifts. My wife and I just laugh at that. I tell my kids that their bus pass comes with a $100K limo.

 

Anyway, I don't think the world has gone nuts, necessarily (or maybe yes, but not for these reasons), but I think people do create their self-image these days based on what they have, not who they are. We've tried real hard for our kids to not be that way, and luckily, we very seldom here anything about, "well, so and so has the latest whatever". They are fortunate to have all their grandparents alive and well and nearby, and a family gathering doesn't go by without some tale from the Depression, so my kids know how hard life can be.

 

I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit a couple of 3rd world countries. Life in the U.S. is not like life elsewhere. I've seen people living in cardboard boxes. Life in the U.S. is some sort of fantasy (for most people) that has a price tag that somebody, sometime, is going to have to pay. Unfortunately, I think it's going to end up being our kids, and their kids.

[packsaddle]

I hope this thread lasts until Thanksgiving.

[SR540Beaver]

Prairie,

 

I second the motion on travel to other nations. Few Americans have seen real poverty and fail to understand how excessive our culture can be. Their concerns run more towards having the ability to have clean water, enough food, sanitary conditions and medicine. There are those in the US who view poverty as not having a new car or large screen TV or the latest pair of $150 Nikes. Don't get me wrong, poverty does exist in the US, but it pales in comparison to many other parts of the world.

[Kahuna]

It's true that we have a very materialistic culture and most people are living beyond their means. The part of this that bothers me is that people think they can buy off their kids with material things. There is a lot of pressure for them to have the same things they see other kids with, but people just don't use good judgment in buying them a $38K car (or any kind of car, IMHO). You can't use the old, "Back in my day we only had . . ." anymore, kids are way too smart for that. But people can say "no way" and stick to it. What's really sad is that most kids just want more time with their parents in activities like scouts.

[ManyIrons]

Eamonn,

 

If anyone was trying to "physic me out" I think I might get pretty sore -- in every sense of the word.

 

I suggest you not eat or drink anything else OJ offers you for the foreseeable future, unless you actually see him prepare it -- just to be on the safe side.

[hops_scout]

E, I'm gonna have to say it's probably gone nuts. I just turned sixteen a couple months ago and a lot of my friends are now too. My best friend's brother got a car last summer when he turned sixteen. His makes sense-- It was their father's old car and they live out in the middle of nowhere. Both Andrew (the older one) and Jonathan are at school from 7-6,7,8 almost every day for something or other. It will be shared car starting in July when Jonathan gets his license.

 

Colton, a member of our troop, turned sixteen 3 weeks ago. He has already purchased a truck or should I say his parents did. He paid 500 bucks for his vehicle. It was 2000. It doesnt surprise me that his parents have bought him a car. He is an only child and shows it frequently. A couple years ago between Christmas and his birthday, he probably got nearly 2 grand worth of gifts. I walk through the school parking lot every day when I go to school. I've seen some pretty nice vehicles and I've seen some real junkers.

 

Next kid I dont actually know, but he drove a black HUMMER to school normally. One day he drove his dad's orange HUMMER to school and it was stolen. This kid was allowed to do it because he had just signed with OK State or Texas, I dont remember which. Now, if you can tell me who his dad is, you win;) (Think Yankees)

 

I'd say I'm pretty well off. Both my parents are teachers so the income isnt what most would prefer, especially having 5 kids in the house at one point. I get quite a bit for Christmas and such, but I've paid for probably 60 percent of my stuff except for clothes. I have my own laptop but it's a hand-me-down which doesnt work very well. I'm kind of trying to get it fixed but I doubt I will. I have my own digital camera that I bought last year with birthday money. Earlier this year I bought a 128 MB Jumpdrive that I paid all but about 5 bucks for. At Christmas, I got an MP3 player/Jumpdrive with money from a couple things I took back. My mom has paid for my tent, my uniform, and one of my sleeping bags. I have 3 sleeping bags, and probably close to 4, 5 hundred dollars worth of gear. That includes over 100 bucks worth of climbing gear that I've paid for most of.

 

Yes, the world has gone nuts. Some of us with cars; others with technology, and even others with camping gear and such.

[SeattlePioneer]

The other end of the continuum from "timeless values" is "fashionable values" that change constantly --- change for the sake of change, fed by the need for bored people to spend money and manufacturers who need to sell people things they already have.

 

No wonder I have trouble recruiting new Boy Scouts.

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[SemperParatus]

Speaking of teenagers, cars and complete absurdity...

 

My cousin's son, who was 14 at the time, decided to take his father's Dodge Viper out for a joy ride while his parents were out for the afternoon. Only a few miles from the house, his excessive speed caused him to lose control, crossing the center line and crashing into another car which was driven by their next door neighbor. Both cars were totalled, the boy was not injured and the neighbor was flown to shock trauma (since has recuperated from his injuries). The boy just turned 16 recently, and while he will not be able to get his license for a couple of more years due to probation, his parents celebrated the occasion by buying the boy his own Dodge Viper (interestingly, insurance replaced the father's Viper). Talk about a crazy, mixed-up world. Some folks just have no sense at all.

[GopherJudy]

Yes Eamonn, the world has gone nuts! Actually more materialistic! $900.00 for a purse! EGADS! Me, I shop at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target & Kohl's when they have sales! I don't spend any more than $20.00 for a purse & it must have several sections & the strap must be a certain length! I don't wear designer clothes & even if I had the money I wouldn't wear them! My parents never bought me a car, I had to buy my own & to pay for my own car insurance, I was 18 & working part-time at A&P & making probably around $3.00 an hour! Some kids just get everything they want. I tell my two that you can't always get what you want! What's really amusing is that my younger brother, he's 41, is very materialistic; has to have the best of everything & didn't even want a perfectly good double stroller after his 2nd child was born! He'd rather have a new one & spend over $100.00 than to have one for free that was in great condition!

 

 

SR540 Beaver,

 

Guess what? My 1st car was a 1968 Dodge Coronet 440 except it was green! I bought it in 1975 & paid $900.00 for it, but the Bill of Sale said $600.00 so I only had to pay the sales tax on $600.00! That car have great pick up but lousy gas mileage! BTW, I'm 48 myself!

 

 

Judy