A week or so ago, I was anxiously awaiting the announcement of the rumored new iPod. The day came, and His Jobness brought forth a suitably sexy device for waaay too much money.
The issue at hand wasn’t that I couldn’t AFFORD $250 (or even $500, as it’d be required to buy another for the wife), it was that I couldn’t JUSTIFY spending the dough on the gadget.
Financially speaking, we’ve never been in better shape, the debt’s paid off, the childcare is easily worked into the budget ($1500 a month, ouch!), the cars are well on their way to being paid off.
Then I had an epiphany. Dismissing the math (A CD/mp3 player is now $30, blank CDR’s to carry all my music cost less than two bucks. $32 for unlimited storage mobile music, vs. 4 Gb small sexy for $250) here is the problem with America as I see it:
There are more and more marketing folks produced each and every day (this is not a slam on marketing, keep reading), their goal is to get you to buy their product. (this too is not inherently bad)
There are many many more people trying to get my money by having me BUY their products than there are dollars in my wallet.
Compare this to Las Vegas. The real reason very few people make it rich in Vegas is: The casio has an unlimited bank. As long as they have an unlimited bank, a less than 100% return on the money, and you DO NOT have unlimited funds, they’ll eventually win all the money you’re willing to give 'em.
Now that I’ve discovered this truth, I’m still trying to figger out how much I’m willing to give em. Unless I want to die broke