The list of gotta have stuff continues to grow…

There are a myriad of articles written on the topic of consumer debt and the unsustainable pace at which we consume, but little attention is given to the root causes of this behavior. At risk of divulging my age, let me say that I remember a time (in the not too distant past, mind you) when most of the stuff on our gotta-have lists didn’t even exist. I’ll offer a few examples of what I’m talking about. Take Television, for instance. At one time, the only requirement for watching Television was electric service to the house. Depending on your preference today, you can spend upwards of several hundred dollars a month for the privilege of watching what you want.

And, how about Cell Phones? Reserved mainly for businessmen and the elite, it wasn’t until the late 1980’s that Cell Phones began to gain a foothold in the American Market. Now, it seems that everyone has one. When I got my first, I signed up for a two year plan at a cost of $9.99 a month. At present, four members of my family have one at a cost of $189 a month. About the same time that Cell Phone ownership became popularized, the Personal Computer became affordable to the average consumer. What at first was considered as a novelty item, used mostly as a stand-alone Word Processor, has evolved into a sophisticated networked device at the center of an array of consumer gadgets attached to the World Wide Web. And Dial-up, forget it! High Speed Internet is the only way to go. We can also add to our list GPS, Bluetooth, Blue Ray, LCD TV’s, and the list keeps growing. Unfortunately, most our incomes are finite, while the list of items available to us is unlimited.

The rate at which new goods and services are being offered is growing at a rate faster than most incomes. We understand this intellectually, but we are creatures of habit and conditioning. From the moment we are able to hold up our heads, we are inundated with commercials and clever advertising intent on getting us to buy something. Combine easy credit policies and human nature, it’s no wonder that so many have fallen victim to there own spending habits. Now, I’m not letting folks off the hook. Eventually, we have to look inward and decide for ourselves what’s important. This may require a resetting of priorities. It most certainly requires taking control of ones finances, and making better choices.