You’re not the Jones’ - get over it
Posted
May 12, 2008 at
3:39 pm by
Allison J
I am so sick of “stuff.” I can be a material girl, won’t deny it. But keeping up with the Jones’ is just something I can’t get into. In case you haven’t heard, we’re in the midst of a recession, although George reassures us that it’s just a “slowdown.”
My husband and I do OK for ourselves. In an attempt to save money for our future we have decided to live frugally for the time being. Our house isn’t decked out (although we will be siding it this month!!!). We live within our means. We do have nice clothes, dine out occasionally, and can be seen at our local watering hole once in a while. I even splurged today on Red Sox tickets! However, the need to spend incessantly among some that I know has become irritating!
Many of us have, at some point, lived beyond our means. And where has that gotten us? You don’t need new furniture every two years. You really don’t need a TV that rivals a movie theater. You’re new monster truck will be a hit at the gas station. And those jeans you paid $120 for — no one can tell. They look like the same pair I saw at JC Penny for $20.
If spend, spend, spend is your prerogative, fine. Knock yourself out. But when you can’t afford it, and you complain constantly about cash flow, bills, and the rising price of gas and groceries, you kind of make me want to stab myself with my Target flatware (that I bought at 40 percent off).
This need to keep up with the Jones’ can’t just exist within my circle of friends. Has anyone else experienced this, or am I just being a green-eyed monster?
Tags: financial-planning, Humor, keeping-up-with-the-jones, living-beyond-your-means, recession, saving-money |
11 Responses to “You’re not the Jones’ - get over it”
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1. Rita said:
May 12, 2008 @ 4:14 pm
Yeah. It happens here, too. Don’t even get me started.
2. Prescott said:
May 12, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
And a $20 bouncy seat works just as well as a $350 one.
Oh, come on! You totally tossed me a 5 MPH softball.
3. Grandma frm Ks. said:
May 12, 2008 @ 5:06 pm
Keep going green eyed monster! I;m agreeing on this, whats wrong with $20 jeans? I think most of the time ppl buy expencesive clothes to hide their ugly attitudes, I worked with some woman in an office , and no matter how nice their clothes looked, they still looked ugly, B/C of their attitudes. Fancy cars and trucks? well heres my attitude on that , they better be thinking about future plans, I’m surely thinking when they re-tire food in the belly will get them further than all the fancy stuff they just can’t seem to do with-out now. and Social Security and retirement alone may not keep them up to date, Save, Save, Save, I’m just an old grandma trying to keep up with living, and medical expences.
4. Rita said:
May 12, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
[quote comment="162981"]And a $20 bouncy seat works just as well as a $350 one.
Oh, come on! You totally tossed me a 5 MPH softball. :)[/quote]
Aww, I’m snoozing at the plate here, I totally should have had that one
5. ninja weiner nah nah said:
May 12, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
The Jones’ are such miserable assholes…WHO would want to keep up with them!
6. Allison J said:
May 12, 2008 @ 5:50 pm
[quote comment="162981"]And a $20 bouncy seat works just as well as a $350 one.
Oh, come on! You totally tossed me a 5 MPH softball. :)[/quote]
You got me there
But after 4 hours in Babies R Us, your judgment becomes impaired!
7. Cherish said:
May 12, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
I couldn’t agree with you more! Oh, and I bought my flatware at Target too and I love ti and get compliments on it!
8. McGee said:
May 13, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
Retail therapy can be…well.. theraputic. But it bothers me that I sometimes feel the need to buy in order to feel better. Am I crazy?
9. Rita said:
May 13, 2008 @ 5:37 pm
[quote comment="163152"]Retail therapy can be…well.. theraputic. But it bothers me that I sometimes feel the need to buy in order to feel better. Am I crazy?[/quote]
My husband is like that, but what’s interesting is after really looking at it, he likes the experience of shopping–the thrill of the find, the anticipation of something new. So, he uses Ebay as a hobby. He calls it “rotating the merchandise.” It has really worked for us. He goes through his stuff and sells stuff and buys new stuff. He’s got his own little account to work with. That way he gets his shopping “fix” without actually spending new money, and it’s good for the environment, keeps things out of landfills.
10. Grandma frm Ks. said:
May 13, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
[quote comment="162995"]The Jones’ are such miserable assholes…WHO would want to keep up with them! ;)[/quote]
You go girl, who would want to?, and it’s not like they all can really afford it, many years ago we lived in suburban Chgo. had a Jones family as neighbors, anyone neighbor who bought any thing new, the Jones would go out and by one that cost more, one year we won the prize for the best looking manicured yard, it was a fountain, which they installed with water, lights ect. well 2 days later the Jones had a bigger one put in their yard, they had 9 kids at the time, but they had to stay above every one else even if it meant above their means. And when I see these fancy homes and cars, I just say thank you God I’m not paying for it.
11. bms2000 said:
May 14, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
We drive a 11 year old, fits-the-four-of-us-barely, Geo Tracker. Everyone assumes we are shopping for a car, or pities us because we are ’stuck’ with this tiny vehicle. Seriously folks, I have no envy of your SUV. I don’t want a BMW. A hybrid would be nice, but now that I got the little one potty trained I would hate to have to sell him to pay for one. I’m sure that my uncool car, the fact that we don’t actually own a TV, a cell phone, or a single iPod, and the fact that I have never shopped for any retail clothing other than socks and underwear for my kids is a form of child abuse in the Jones’ eyes.