When Spending Becomes You

Chapter 4: When Spending Becomes You
It becomes dangerous for all involved when the spending becomes competitive. Schor begins this chapter with explaining striking features in a modern American house. How do Americans have so much? If you are a typical American consumer, you did not always have this much. We continuously buy so much stuff that we need professional movers to transport all of our possessions. Americans buy so many items not worth the money. For example, we buy thousands of "I just have to have this" items a year. Possessions become a person and ones wants. Susan Fourtnier found that 61 percent of respondents "always have somethin in mind that they look forward to buying." Twenty-seven percent of the sample said that they "dream about the things they do not own " very ofter. Have you ever heard of someone having a wish list? These lists contain an average of 6.3 items and were heavily dominated by material possessions. OUr fantasies reveal the centrality of gaining others' esteem. Between seeing and buying lies the inner world of desire. Not everyone earns before buying. Most of what we purchase we finance through borrowing. Nearly all Americans borrow to buy their homes. Americans get so far into debt because they constantly borrow money for their wants. Debt emerges as a prominent feature of life. Schor facts that 11 percent of employees reported having no consumer debt, excluding mortgages. Debt keeps people from living a simple life. For most Americans, our social place starts with family, friends, and coworkers. It starts here because these peoples spending patterns are what we care most about. We judge them with our materialistic lifestyles. Schor once again mentions the millionaire next door. He says that we can see how the millionaire never changes his reference groups and do not move to the nicest neighborhoods. They are happy with themselves and do not need to show their true self through their presence. It is important for Americans to understand that the reference group variable is not a measure of income. Part of what keeps the see-want-borrow-and-buy sequence going is lack of attention. Schor says, "Americans live with a high level of denial about their spending patterns. We continuously spend more than we realize. Not paying attention to what we spend is very common. For parents, the pressure to emulate is often experienced through the children. Education is a prime thing for parents to spend money on for the children. It is only the most expensive of the things that make parents feel a need to keep up with. In considering money, parents need to understand that is takes a lot of income to support a child. However, it is their job. In this chapter, Schor points out that it can be harder to hold the line on gift buying than on a purchase for oneself. Retail stores report that 25 percent of their total income is sold during the Christmas season. Professional or social undoing is one important motive. Today, in a world where being middle class is not good enough, securing a home means going upscale. Americans do not want to lose the place they have made for themselves. To Americans it is all about the looks in society. A huge problem for Americans today is that socializing cost money. After football games or school people go grab a bight to eat of get something to drink. This is why one can say spending becomes you. All Americans do is spend, spend, and spend. It is almost as if one can't have fun without spending money. Those who try to live on less become aware of the social costs. For normal people, their are few ways of socializing without spending  money. Schor brings a question up in this chapter stating, "Once we get the item do we use it?" No, not all the time. Americans get the desire to own something because they feel like is will bring them happiness. Well, truly it is an insecure problem. Americans just don't know when to stop spending their money. They never have an end to spending.