June 19, 2007

Simple Question

What would make you happy?

A) More Possessions

B) More Experiences

91 comments:

Anonymous said...

C) More affordable housing would make me happy.

Is that considered possession or experience?

Frank R said...

Experience, without a doubt.

I have plenty of nice possessions ... but it's my life's experiences that I really love. I grew up in the northest, have lived in Hawaii, Vegas, Arizona, and now So Cal, went from broke to financially free, had the best dog who ever lived for 11 years, enjoy every day of life with my beautiful, wonderful, loving girlfriend ......

All that is so much more than possessions. Things like my flashy watch and nice car are fun when new but get old pretty fast, but my life's experiences will be exciting forever.

Oh but don't tell that to the shallow phony realtwhore types who believe that you're worthless if you don't lease a BMW, borrow money from a bank to "buy" a house, and max out your credit card for a Rolex.

Anonymous said...

Be sure to read the article Keith linked on this post

"People with chronic self-doubt may be more likely than others to define personal success by having the biggest house on the block or a new luxury car"

Anonymous said...

Possessions are nothing but stuff.

I would rather have fewer possessions albeit ones of quality and value. (not just perceived value) There isn't much stuff that really interests me.

Experiences are far more valuable than possessions but peace of mind in a hectic world is what one really should strive for.

BTW...the article in the link was dead right.

Anonymous said...

Funny you should ask. I am about to sell my house and all my posessions and go off for adventure/ experiences for a year maybe two. Starting first in China.

I realized the house/possession had become my prison. A very comfortable prison, but a prison nonetheless.

Dave

Anonymous said...

Evidently most Americans would choose A shallow as they are

Anonymous said...

I want to go with Dave.

Experience trumps possessions every time.

blogger said...

Yahoo cover story today

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-19743364

Take a Year off to Travel the World

Ever dream about quitting your job and taking off to parts unknown? It's easier than you think. With a bit of careful planning and research, taking an extended vacation can be surprisingly affordable. The secret is to target areas where daily living expenses are lower than those here in America. Even with the weak U.S. dollar, that still leaves a huge portion of the globe to explore. Let’s assume that a typical San Franciscan spends $1,000 per month on rent, $150 on gas, and $150 on utilities. Even without factoring in food and entertainment expenses, that gives them over $43 per day to play with — more than enough to live on in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

Anonymous said...

I've already traveled the world, more than once. I've done the great adventure. Now I'm ready for a life of McMansion living with a BMW/Porsche/Jaguar in the driveway.

So sue me.

Anonymous said...

So Sue Me,

"Now is a good time to buy...."

Dave.

Anonymous said...

HPers remind me of a friend I had in college How we became friends is a mystery do this day. I was black he was white (figuratively speaking). He was ying I was yang. But we met freshman year and were the best friends from then on.

When I went to Lake Havasu for spring break, he spent the week studying for mid-terms. When I stayed out till 4 Thursday nights and couldn't remember what happened from 1 on, he went home at midnight and actually went to Friday classes.

After college we both became quite successfull. Him an engineer, me in sales. Difference again was I spent every penny I made, he saved every penny. I had the sports car, he had the Honda, etc. I was in debt he was was not. For all I know he was a regular on HP as he had the same mind set of save, save, save and live a spartan life.

Well about a year ago he went and finally had his "experience". He went to Bolivia and was mountain climbing of all things. He died of altitude poisoning. He was 32 and died with over $1M in the bank. That's what made me saddest, that he died with all that money. He saved saved it all, lived a pretty dull life and in the end, for what? So he could die on a mountain 5000 miles from home.

You have to live life for today.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
So Sue Me,

"Now is a good time to buy...."

Dave.

June 19, 2007 11:54 AM



----------------------------------

WHOA Spanky!! Not everything has to do with realtors. man you people are so fixated you're going off the deep end.

blogger said...

anon with the miser friend who died young:

I'm firmly recommening live for today. Live for today means get your ass out of walmart and pottery barn, buy a used car vs. new car, live in house you can afford (to buy or rent), and take the extra money, save some of it, and go live life with the rest of it

"Deferred Life" = aka retirement - is yesterday's news. Save all of your life so you can do things when you're old, feeble and sick doesn't make sense.

Do them now, while you still can, as if today's your last day. But above all, be smart with your money. Life doesn't have to be about slaving away at a job you hate, commuting 2 hours to and from work, buying things to make yourself look good, and living beyond your means.

Just make sure you save some of it for when you're old, feeble and sick.

Anonymous said...

What makes me happy?

To love mercy, act justly, and walk humbly with the Lord my God.

Anonymous said...

Experiences. It’s not even close. No matter how bad the economy gets I will still remember traveling, partying, etc.

Anonymous said...

I want the experience of having lots of possessions. Only then will I be able to choose.

Benvolio Montague said...

B) no question

Anonymous said...

Experience, I could live in a box if it meant I could travel the world and experience it all!

Small Hat

Anonymous said...

materialism or hedonism - is that the choice of life?

Maybe you were created for something better...

Marky Mark

Anonymous said...

LOL. More possessions. Because all my possessions have to do with experiences. There's the vintage Porsche I was working on the night before my wedding so my bride and I could drive from the ceremony in it. There's the vintage radio I restored the summer I was 14. There's the small coin collection I got from my favorite uncle that I've expanded. There's the 34 yo BMW I drive now - I haven't worked on it much yet, but it's just like one I had for 4 years that was totalled after I moved to London and gave it to a friend. Sure, they are all just things, but they are things imbued with hard work and knowledge, not just bought.

There's also the wooden cricket cage I made with my son, and the rocketship he made in a wood class at school. Those are all possessions, too.

People make up this false dichotomy between experiences and things when what they are really talking about is the difference between _doing_ and _buying_.

I don't care about going to some other country and observing the natives, or their culture. Too me, that's just as shallow as buying some new car / big house. You are no more a _participant_ than someone who sits at home. Is anything different about the place you just experienced? Did you _add_ anything to it?

Your mileage may vary. But it's not about possessions vs. experiences.

Be careful out there!

Anonymous said...

I am bored with material possessions.though I do not have a lot compared to some I feel rich.I think of people dumpster diveing and digging through dumps for food and I'm thankful to have what I have.
I am always thinking of ways not to spend money on material stuff.Most americans are getting their pleasures from buying stuff, not me.I have some acreage up in the sierra nevadas where I can get way and feel great to be alive.Just me the trees and the squirrels.

Anonymous said...

Travel-which I can afford to do without ridiculous mortgage payments. Next month I am headed out to Dubai :)!

Anonymous said...

Only possessions that enhance experiences. IMHO, possessions are nothing more than tools toward that end.

Smug Bastard

Anonymous said...

Experience trumps possession almost every time (the reverse is true only for those who don't even have the basics: food, shelter, clothing).

It's so easy now to acquire things (too easy?). But they mean little to nothing. It is an historical irony that today's impoverished have so many things, that they feel so rich.

Many people I know have a LOT of things. Then they wonder why they live paycheck to paycheck, go bankrupt, and experience various other serious personal setbacks. Many of these problems seem entirely preventable. I even receive gifts from some of these very people occasionally. But I don't want them. I'd rather they forgo the gifts, solve their problems, get out of bankruptcy, save their money, and live comfortably. Many of these people need the gift of experience. I've been through tough times. I offer this gift to them – good advice: don't bother with real estate. It's not worth it.

I am a licensed but non-practicing California real estate broker who left real estate for information technology in 1998. I was a buyer's agent. I helped buyers find affordable homes. Even by 1998 it was difficult to do this. I cautioned buyers against buying too big a home. I told them that they should carry a mortgage payment close to a maximum 1/4 of gross income. I told them they should not even consider obtaining a mortgage for more than 2 1/2 times their combined gross income, and to keep it even lower if possible. I bet my advice discouraged many prospects from working with me. As you may imagine, I didn’t produce too many sales in real estate...

What surprises a lot of people is that I have never bought nor sold a home for myself. Moreover, I have never regretted it. Homes were expensive even in 1998. They are absolutely ludicrously expensive now. Yet many buyers still here the Siren's song, sail toward the seemingly bountiful (but in fact nearly barren) homebuyer's island, and then crash upon the rocky shores. It’s so sad…

I have few possessions, walk to work, live comfortably, and save. As a currently licensed California real estate broker who has not worked in the industry for nearly a decade, I find it most ironic now to realize and state here that absolutely none of this had anything whatsoever to do with real estate. I will never buy a home at more than 50% of these current prices. I don’t need the space nor the possessions that a large home would fill. And most assuredly, I don’t want the kind of experience that homebuyers have when they buy too big a home.

Bill said...

To be 25 again and know what I know now.

Anonymous said...

I buy and sell possessions every day. Trading in possessions causes unpleasant manifestations of the seven deadly sins which block positive experience.

I started out to make money to afford comfortable experience and find myself caught in the trap of the end and means.

Anonymous said...

Happiness is having a loving wife and family, and a handful of good friends to drink a beer with, and be there to celebrate your happy times, and help you through your bad one's.

No world travelling/beamers/McMansions can ever replace your friends.

Rordogma said...

EXPERIENCE!!!!

I recently got back from a year-long honeymoon around the world. We saved for over two years, but it was definitely worth it!

For anyone considering the jump, i HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book...'Vagabonding' by R.Potts. It's a philosophical-type book(rather than a explicit how-to) about long-term economical travel and I read it at a time when I was slowly, but surely getting drawn into the rat-race financial world of WallStreet and hedge funds. I was crying out for a change, b/c I knew I would rather blow my head off than work 30+ years in that hostile environment, with little chance of ever taking a REAL vacation, or having my own interests outside of making other people money.

This book was a slap in the face that the only limitations on what we can accomplish in this life are 100% self-imposed. Simple as that. The moment I finished that book, it was as though a shade that had covered my reality had been removed, everything seemed possible, and the most exhilirating part was that work no longer seemed to have the oppressive feeling...it was like I was working there on MY terms, not the other way around. Each and every morning I had something beautiful and inspiring to wake up for.

Those last two years in NYC....saving, thinking, fantisizing, laughing...were as monumental as the trip itself.

You can absolutely pull it off, there's not a single person or circumstance in this world that can prevent you from doing what you always dreamed of.

Fuggit...Go travel!!!

Rordogma

Anonymous said...

SEX

Anonymous said...

Pam Anderson

O.K., I know she would make my life hell on earth. A guys gotta dream.

Anonymous said...

C) More Hookers

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
I want the experience of having lots of possessions. Only then will I be able to choose."

Congrats! You hit the nail right on the head. I heard a saying once: "People who say that money can't buy you happiness, NEVER HAD ANY MONEY!"

As someone who has had experiences AND possessions in my life, I would gladly go back and choose 100 times more experiences and 100 times less possessions if I could roll back the clock!

You can only make your choice after you have known both, otherwise you'll always wonder!

Anonymous said...

>> Experiences. It’s not even close. No matter how bad the economy gets I will still remember traveling, partying, etc.

When the inevitable financial implosion of the USA occurs and you can't even buy food anymore, your precious memories will be quickly forgotten as you scavenge for food for basic survival.

Me? I'll take the possessions - they can be bartered. Your precious memories are completely useless and of no value.

Anonymous said...

I rent a home in the Bay Area. Last Zillow estimate put it at 800,000. My rent is 1800.

My wife is a stay at home mom and we have 3 kids under 6.

When my schedule was cut back 2 years ago, I initially thought I would find a second job. Instead I decided to be a mostly stay at home dad.

So between myself and my wife, we (I) work a total of 2 days per week.

Its awesome. We are having the time of our lives raising our kids.

But everywhere around me I see both parents working to pay their bills and the very young kids being dumped off to daycare or nannys or afterschool programs.

How human beings (mostly Americans) unload their offspring so casually I'll never understand.

Roccman said...

About 5 Billion of YOU gone.

Anonymous said...

Possessions, lots of them!

Are a True pain in the Ass!

You can't keep up with the maintenance and upkeep!

The constant nickel and dime... i wish,

Live better, live modestly, relax and enjoy your life and what you have been blessed with!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Donald Trump!

Anonymous said...

BOTH

Anonymous said...

I would like more experiences where I go buy more possessions. heh heh

Anonymous said...

B

definitely. my friends and family think i am the cheapest son of a gun out there. and everytime i tell them "so we're going to italy/dominican republic/maine/skiing/etc next month" they give me the weirdest look, and say something like 'you're goin where? you?' i've tried to tell them i'm not 'cheap' when it comes to life experiences.
i've lost half my family to cancer. i dont have time or money to waste on material possessions. i need to live life for the now.

Anonymous said...

Now Keith wants to get all touchy-feely and spend some money? All of a sudden he wants you to buy a used car and "live it up"?

Funny. Last week he was beating the table about how stupid people are to drive a car instead of public trans., and rent some sardine can vs. own a house and stuff in a house.

Hypocracy on this thread is stunning to read each week.

Anonymous said...

I want the experience of being kind to my fellow human being.

I want to possess lots of knowledge.

Anonymous said...

Experiences, definitely. When I was rolling in dough, I had great experiences. When I was flat broke, I had great experiences. Now I'm somewheres in between, and I have great experiences. I seldom think of the Rolex or classic Cadillac I owned when I had money, but I always think of the trips I took with my friends, the great meals, the nights just sitting around bullsh!tting. Likewise I rarely think about the dump I lived in when I was broke - just the good times I still managed to have. And I'm still doing it today. Money will help you get some things - when I was making $8/hr., owning that Gibson ES-335 was a pipe dream. Now I have it - and a couple other guitars I've always wanted. The ES doesn't make me any happier, but it is sweet, and I love to play it, and I love to let my jamming buddies (some of whom can't afford gear like I can) play it, and my other gear, too. And we've had some great experiences with those possessions.

Anonymous said...

Because of the experience I possess, I have the possessions I experience.

One can not gain more experience than what comes along but you can obtain additional or fewer possessions as you wish.

What becomes important is the quality of your experience and the quality of your possessions.

If you owe against a possession, you really do not possess it.

There is nothing wrong with experiencing your possessions in what ever quantity you have.

What most people end up with is crappy possessions that clutter up your experience.

If I choose to drive the Tahoe instead of the Porsche, how is that your concern?

If I Winter in Phoenix and Summer in Flagstaff what do you care?

I chose DLP over Plasma in the family room but LCD was the only way to go in the Kitchen.

I prefer the spa over the pool, but isn't it my choice?

I have given up many possessions which I no longer require, but only when I can get a tax break for doing so and an upgrade in quality with the replacement.

I have a vegetable garden and citrus trees, I prefer fresh food over store bought, does that increase my possessions or do I gain preferable experience?

Neither, it is simply a matter of choice.

Anonymous said...

Don't knock people who work thier ass off. Some people like busting their ass. I did for years and have taken the last 1 1/2 years off after having a 13 year career same company. I'm getting anxious and it's time to get back. What would make me happy, cush job with flexiblity. Hard to find these days but looking. By the way i'm in hawaii enjoying life for now.

Anonymous said...

I want to be a slave to a giant McMansion and leased luxury cars

dc said...

He saved saved it all, lived a pretty dull life and in the end, for what? So he could die on a mountain 5000 miles from home.

Lived a pretty dull life? The guy was an engineer, never had to worry about money, and died, tragically and unintentionally, on an amazing trip. And he would have been able to have plenty more of those adventures had he lived. Cripes, dude... that's much more worthwhile than living day-to-day scraping by paying off your credit card bills.

Is my life really that much fuller because of the money I've spent on restaurants and alcohol? Meh, not really- it was all about the time I spent with my friends, and that part's free. It's the social accoutrements that cost you-- and those things aren't even necessary.

Anonymous said...

I would like to experience Yun, LAY, Liarreah, Blanche the Cow, Retsinas, all tied to chairs in a bright white room.

In front of them on a huge screen questions from HPers flash in huge bold face text. The questions are also read very loud by a robotic sounding voice synthesis program.

For truthful answers our contestants are rewarded with small paper cups of warm water and dry biscuits

WatchingDogma said...

Happieness is acheived when your expectations have been exceeded - the question can't be answered the same by all people because each person's expectations are different. You can't find happiness until your expectations are set appropriately. For some people that's possessions - for others, experiences. For others - spirituallity. For others - who knows? Happiness can be universal - but the path to follow to get there is not.

Anonymous said...

so where is this bust in NorCal? Multiple offers are stil the norm. Sorry to disappoint, no crash here.

Anonymous said...

Some poeesions provide for great experiences. A boat, a summer home, a musical instrument, a book, golf clubs, skis, list is endless.

It's a really dumb question.

gregoryw said...

I say while you're slaving away to pay off your student loans, enjoy a few nice things. Find some roommates and rent a nice new place courteousy of your landlord. Take frequent weekend trips around the US of A to see friends and new cities. And above all, sack away as much money as you can in tax deferred accounts. While the people you knew in high school are figuring out their lives, you'll be long on your way to early retirement. And when you get a clean break mid-career, take a sabbatical to travel for a few months.

You can have both, if you take the time to work major decisions out in excel before you jump into them.

Anonymous said...

More Experiences. But, can I choose between experiences? A painful experience is not necessarily a bad experience. You can semi-control money, but you cannot control experience.

Anonymous said...

Experiences and memories (i.e. travel) will always outweigh possessions. However, the problem with this damn country is you only get a lousy 2 weeks vacation time and most people can't even take it due to employer/corp pressure. We need lawmakers to change vacation. Even more disgusting - only getting 6wks paid or 12 wks unpaid time off after birth of child.........I hear in Europe they allow 1 YEAR off with job security. We reap what we sow which is alot of kids without proper nurturing in the early years. The result is gangs, drugs and alcohol.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if those that say that they would choose "experiences" over possessions or would say that "experiences" are better than possessions have ever experienced, firsthand, war, extreme poverty, hunger, acts of violence, etc?

Indeed, most probably would not want to experience the above, but yet, they would likely learn much more about themselves and their fellow man upon experiencing the above as opposed to travel.

blogger said...

checking in from a net cafe in york england today... cool little walled city, recommended if you visit england

good thread, keep it going, i'll be back in london tomorrow night, comments will be sllllooooowwww...

nice to see so many chiming in with 'experience', however, that's not what's seemingly going on in the USA or around the world today.

consumerism run amock. the only experience many have is going shopping

it's gotta stop

can't take it with you. things do not make you the person you are

and no, this isn't about hedonism. it's about living, learning, doing, helping, experiencing, changing

pottery barn is having a sale I hear this weekend though, maybe take some of that heloc and go on a spree, you know, like the neighbors did

Anonymous said...

WTF does every thread have to eventually go to the "americans do this" route?

Come on, you bitch about BMWs bought with HELOC. Exactly who makes those BMWS? Hint: not Americans. London is full of BMWs too as well as Range Rovers, Jaguars, Porsches etc. How are they any less materialistic than Americans?

You are so hypocritical sometimes.

Anonymous said...

>When the inevitable financial implosion of the USA occurs and you can't even buy food anymore, your precious memories will be quickly forgotten as you scavenge for food for basic survival.

>Me? I'll take the possessions - they can be bartered. Your precious memories are completely useless and of no value.
----------

So you won't be able to "buy" food but it will be freely available for bartering?

Look, if things get so bad as you allude to it's not going to matter how much gold/ammo/whatever you have. Everyone's life will suck.

Seriously, find me a starving man who will trade you food for gold...

Anonymous said...

check this out -->
http://tinyurl.com/28lzpx

Anonymous said...

KWEEFER have you ever thought that some people just buy stuff from pottery barn because it looks nice and don't need to use a heloc?

Not everyone makes $11 an hour and needs to borrow money to buy home decorations.

Ugh but why would a bunch of apartment dwellers understand. Enjoy your white walls and linolium(sp?) floors.

Anonymous said...

The question needs actually some interpretation.
For sometimes, in order to have experiences, you have to have some possessions.
As always, it is not white or black, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
If driving a Porsche is wonderful for you, and you enjoy every second of it, go for one. But if maintenance or making the money to pay for it gets to much of a hassle, get rid of it.

Partying and traveling, which have been cited often, can be (probably very often is) just plain stupid consumerism - as taking a mountain climbing trip, if you are not a passionate mountain climber. Poor guy probably just booked it in a travel agency as others book a Caribean cruising tour. I bet it was --sold-- to him as "experience".

I renovate an old house for me and my family (150 years old, thick stone walls) which we just love and love to spend time in; it gives me an incredible sens of freedom, since I could rent it out and go on a trip if I wanted to or sell it and buy another in almost any place I wanted to - is that possession or experience?

Anonymous said...

When I go a travelling, I'll keep the things that are important to me, the gifts from friends, the books I value. But the rest will be sold.

I'm single, forty and dammit there is a big world out there and I want to see it in person, not on the travel channel!

There is more to life than buying. Americans are enslaved by consumerism, by envy and by greed.

Good riddance to all that!

Dave

Anonymous said...

all I ask for is a chance to prove that money won't make me happy

TexStock

edd browne said...

The only scenario that would make me
"happy" is learning what change I can
cause that has substantial and lasting effects;
with the guts to do what that takes.

Faith is a hedge fund. Many wasted journeys.
I won't spend my life covering my ass.
Too much innocent, avoidable suffering everywhere.

Then to choose the time, place, and
manner of my own end, with a belief
that my sorry life was not wasted.

Anonymous said...

What difference does it make?

The way I see it, people choose their own demise. You are where you are because of the choices you have made all your life. If your gonna be dumb you gotta be tough, if you're gonna be stupid, you gotta be strong.

No need to pressure idiots to become smart. As long as they live on the ragged edge and do not cost me anything, they can do whatever the hell they want.

People seem to do that...whatever the hell they want.

I say experiences...doesn't mean I don't enjoy possessions, doesn't mean I don't have a lot of possessions, just means that experiences mean more to me than my possessions.

Anonymous said...

"Pam Anderson
O.K., I know she would make my life hell on earth. A guys gotta dream."

Dude, noooo! - You can have a sexpot girlfriend. You should see the one I'm dating right now. Puts Pam Anderson to shame. You can do it, believe me!

1. Find hottie.
2. Ask Out.
3. Have one of the greatest experiences life has to offer (until she makes your life hell on Earth - been there, too!)

Anonymous said...

After work tonight I donated two bags of clothes and will be logging on to my local freecycle to get rid of more stuff. In some cases, I replace old things, but in general, I'd like to shed posessions.

A friend once said, "It's true that you can't buy happiness, but you can buy fun." I think that is fair - things bring a very ephemeral kind of joy, but routine bill paying doesn't even give you that.

Still, I don't want to throw out any experiences or opportunities. May have to join those of you who jumped off the work treadmill.
- puffy

Anonymous said...

I want to go with Dave.

Experience trumps possessions every time.
_______________________

++++I want to go with Dave too. Maybe we could put together a tour group.....

Anonymous said...

Things that would make me happy:

A night with Scarlett Johansson. And Hillary Clinton as president of the US, just to make the lives of neocons miserable.

Anonymous said...

I agree that Americans should take a year to travel abroad. However, they should leave their American brainwash-imperialism-baggage behind. For example, you, Keith, travel a lot but keep on drinking the Kool-Aid (i.e., bashing Iran while kissing Israel's butt). Some people never learn, even traveling 20 years abroad. Americans can live a gazillion years abroad, but after coming back they vote someone like Giulinana into office. Booo, the terrorist bogeyman is gonna get you! Bunch of brainwashed morons.

Paul E. Math said...

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Anonymous said...

Definitely more experiences.

I will never forget my trip to London.

Everything these days are so espensive-possessions are necessary, but I tend to be very conserative on what I purchase, and I make due with what I have until it doesnt work anymore or it breaks. I dont feel compelled to buy the latest and greatest.

I feel much better having money in the bank than having that new gadget.

Anyone see that new ING saving account commercial about a young woman pondering the purchase of a $9,000 handbag??

What is this country coming to???

Anonymous said...

C) Enlightment.

Anonymous said...

More Sex

Anonymous said...

More Experiences. Not in the material form. Knowing people, and
understanding the matrix.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who thinks materialism is AT ROOT really about "having lots of stuff" is mistaken. Piling up shiny trinkets is the manifestation of materialism, but not the ultimate root.

The real motive that drives people to spend their entire lives pursuing hummers and brushed-steel subzero refrigerators is not enjoyment of the things in and of themselves. Rather, it is the perceived STATUS that owning these things brings.

In short, materialism is about STATUS, not comfort or enjoyment of objects.

People are trying to feel secure about their status relative to others through material acquisition. It is not just a quest for comfort or enjoyment...think of the pain and discomfrot people put themselves through day in and day out to achieve "success." They are not doing it to be comfortable. They are doing it to be "admired" as successful individuals.

Status is defined relative to the conditions of others. In ancient times when people lived in nomadic packs of ten to twenty wandering ape-men, having two bananas when everyone else had one makes you "rich." Now, people compare themselves to the impossibly high (and often out-and-out imaginary) standards of TV and mass media...which creates a sense of permanent insecurity and status anxiety, driving the frenzied hamster wheel of material acquisition.

Anonymous said...

What a Moron--thsi explains a lot.

I don't care about going to some other country and observing the natives, or their culture. Too me, that's just as shallow as buying some new car / big house. You are no more a _participant_ than someone who sits at home. Is anything different about the place you just experienced? Did you _add_ anything to it?

Anonymous said...

Good health,

Money enough for comfortability
(essentials plus some)

Anonymous said...

The cutting research is unanimous--its doing that makes humans happy. There are a number of books on "Happiness". Some of the research is done by psychologists and some by behavioral economists. All of these show conclusively that people are happiest when doing things they enjoy. Interestingly, once you get beyond meeting needs, additional income and or possessions do not add to happiness. Being happy is tough and an individual choice. there are millions of dollars spend daily telling people that the better life can be found at the mall via mastercard--not true but enough are fooled by this....

Anonymous said...

I just want shiny 24 inch spinners on an Escalade

Anonymous said...


We reap what we sow which is alot of kids without proper nurturing in the early years. The result is gangs, drugs and alcohol.


The gangs come from the ghettos where people don't work. They sit at home all day watching Jerry Springer while their kids run around in the streets vandalizing and terrorizing the hood.

Anonymous said...

More Experiences, always has been, always will be. The memories live forever....

Anonymous said...

I say B too, no question. I hope to be able to see much more of the world than I have already and I hope to meet many more people.

Anonymous said...

Keith, found this at Blown Mortgage. Our boy has sprouted wings:

Casy Serin's new book - cover & concept released
Casey Serin, the internet poster-child of mortgage "investing" gone wrong, published the cover of his upcoming book titled "The Foreclosure Code." Here is the cover image.



I'm not sure about you but I'm not a big fan of the title or the cover. First of all the "code" to his foreclosure can be summed up in a few bullet points:

lie about your employment
lie about your income
lie about living in the house
lie about the house value
work with people who will help you lie
Even with the above being said Casey is just one of millions of Americans who perpetrated these schemes in the boom-days - he doesn't need to be singled out as the sole criminal simply because he decided to share his story.

I think the book should be titled "How to Lie, Cheat and Steal your way in to bankruptcy - the hijacking of the American Dream" [Excerpt]

Anonymous said...

Where is this crash I keep hearing about? Multiple bids on homes in SV still the norm. Maybe Phoenix suburbs are hurting. Yeah OK, it's Phoenix. NY, Bay Area, Seattle...you know real cities...are still booming.

You clowns need to wake up.

Anonymous said...

Possessions are fleeting...

Anonymous said...

Experiences is what counts, of course, especially positive ones :-) That said, the posession of a well filled bank account can help to have positive experiences. Other posessions are secondary; with enough money you can always rent a house, boat, helicopter for any time you want. The non-posession of any money leads likely to many negative experiences.

Anonymous said...

******************************


10 1/2 inches!

Anonymous said...

When Gandhi died, his main possessions were eyeglasses, a rice bowl, and a pair of sandals.

Anonymous said...

good for gandhi do you have a point other than to **TRY** and sound intelligent?

Anonymous said...

Your not gonna take it with you!