Community Chat

[Carmie]

Some things Americans will replace not because there is anything wrong with it, they just want new and updated.

Items like cars, electronics and appliances as well as clothing that is outdated the following year.

How many people replace their car every 2-3 years or get a new KitchenAid mixer because they want a different color?  Smart watches and phones are expensive and as soon as a new one comes out, lines snake around the building in order to be the first to get one.

We have become a disposable society.  Many people have disposable income.  They spend it as fast as they make it and if they need or want something ASAP, they borrow money to pay for it.

Instead of looking at the total cost of items, they look at the monthly payments.  There is no way this will lead to getting ahead.

[sidsmom]

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@Mindy D wrote:

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@Anonymous032819 wrote:

It's great if one can afford to buy top of the line, top quality product but also keep in mind, that not everyone can.

Prices keep going up, but wages for the most part, have stayed stagnant.

One buys what they can afford.

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There’s rarely a top quality product anymore. Price doesn’t indicate quality anymore either. Very expensive things just fall apart or are made obsolete very quickly. 

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Or calculate 'Price Per Use'.

[fthunt]

@Carmie You said it so well.  Money issues often are because "johnny's" WANTS the newest .....Smartphone.......new ear buds......whatever.  Not because his old one no longer works.   You're right = just another monthly payment - what's the problem with that?

[pigletsmom]

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@Carmie wrote:

Some things Americans will replace not because there is anything wrong with it, they just want new and updated.

Items like cars, electronics and appliances as well as clothing that is outdated the following year.

How many people replace their car every 2-3 years or get a new KitchenAid mixer because they want a different color?  Smart watches and phones are expensive and as soon as a new one comes out, lines snake around the building in order to be the first to get one.

We have become a disposable society.  Many people have disposable income.  They spend it as fast as they make it and if they need or want something ASAP, they borrow money to pay for it.

Instead of looking at the total cost of items, they look at the monthly payments.  There is no way this will lead to getting ahead.

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@Carmie Definitely a disposable society but also a credit based one. I'm only 50 but I remember a time when you went without if you didn't have cash. A store with lay-a-way was the best thing ever.I remember my friends and I thinking we were so adult when we first used it.

[pigletsmom]

Oh and when it comes to wages slowing down you can also parlty blame that on more people in the work force. Once almost all women decided to work you didn't have to pay as much to find help. Wages go up when you're trying to recruit workers. I'll leave it at that.

[QueenDanceALot]

Things aren't made to last anymore, repair people are a dying breed and we live in a culture where people want NEW.

The most problematic thing, to my mind, is how we're littering the Earth with all of our discarded junk.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Q4u wrote:

A very interesting book published (I think) in the 60's called "The Waste Makers" by Vance Packard about planned obsolescence.  Unfortunately it isn't our prosperous future the manufacturers are concerned with, but theirs.....  

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@Q4u 

Wow!   I was thinking about Vance Packard the other day ....  and your post here  prompted me to look up his writings.  He's written several books, and the one that really impressed me was The Hidden Persuaders.     I may have to read it again ....    just because.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@pigletsmom wrote:

Well things used to last a long time but of course they were also super expensive. I had a microwave for 25 years but I remember how expensive that thing was back then. Of course a lot of people went without stuff because of cost too. Not sure there's any inbetween options.

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@pigletsmom 

The very first printer I bought many years ago was a Hewlett Packard printer and it cost $800 .... and I still have it,  it works fine, but only with the computer with the parallel cabels ... I think that's what they're called.   It still prints great.

[ID2]

Once items go back to being made in the US, then they'll last longer. Just like our old appliances, they'd last forever! I've already replaced my washer, dryer and dishwasher and its all been within 5 years! 

[AngelPuppy1]

I think back when a lot of our parents were young and trying to keep a household going, there were not so many choices regarding appliances, and major purchases.  Things were for the most part built to last a much longer time.  And many things were repaired instead of just tossed and replaced.  I remember for instance our t.v.s had all kinds of tubes in them and then a repair person came and replaced tubes, etc.  Things like washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators were kept forever practically and repaired.  

Also, for the most part, when our family needed something major, money was saved for a long time and then cash paid -- nothing charged.

Regarding furniture, nothing new was purchased until the existing pieces wore out.  Frugality was just a way of life --- as money was at a premium.  

I think today a lot of times its not about what we need, but what we want, or think we need!  

There are, of course, higher end products to be had at a much higher price point and then the cheaper priced items.  Not all higher priced items last the longest.