Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

Post by dkn775 » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 1:58 AM UTC

mettamage wrote: post #181

scottLobster wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from the more well-off side, it makes friendships with people on the other side harder as well. By chance a good chunk of my social circle in college was less well off than me, and while we liked playing games together I got weird looks for buying shirts new at Macy's or Michelin tires. It just seemed to rub them the wrong way, like they thought I was trying to show off or rub something in their face even thou…

Can confirm this. Middle class here. Have a relationship with someone well-off. I view it as cultural differences that we need to overcome. In our case we did. The only "downside" is that it takes a very consistent form of energy. I'm constantly thinking "if I'd be as rich as she is, how would I deal with the situation?" I can imagine it to some extent due to how I play poker and seeing parallels with my stack size v…

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 3:01 AM UTC

cgriswald wrote: post #395

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was a kid during the 80s when gas was (comparatively) cheap. But I got so sick of living out in the middle of nowhere and having to drive all the time (as a kid, with my parents), that I spend more on housing in urban areas where I can walk to multiple stores. Throwing things away is so difficult these days that I try to make purchases that avoid it. But like...we still have my 5 year olds car seat in our garage be…

> we still have my 5 year olds car seat in our garage because no place will take them (I have to make a trip to the dump, or get a junk hauler to come by with a big load for them and a few hundred bucks). Our garbage system allows us two "bulky item" pickups per year with our regular garbage if we call in advance where they'll take anything in a 3x3x6 volume. For everything else, I just destroy it with old power tool…

Post by princeb » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 3:10 AM UTC

photochemsyn wrote: post #90

Mindless consumption is nothing but a disease, of the mental illness variety. People who get a dopamine burst or some similar neurotransmitter release when they go shopping have been indoctrinated into patterns of behavior that do them no good in the long run. They'll end up with a house crammed with possessions they never use, bought on a whim in order to make themselves feel better. A better mentality is to always…

Post by dj_mc_merlin » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 3:45 AM UTC

beezle wrote: post #297

I was a kid during both oil shocks of the 1970s. That has absolutely nothing to do with my driving. What does, and not just for driving, is the family taught cultural value of 'don't be wasteful'. So unlike so many people today, I don't make 12 trips a day to stores/friends/whatever when I can just make one or two if I actually think 5 minutes ahead. That applies whether gas is $1 or $5 per gallon. I also try to make…

Post by wolverine876 » Thu, Jun 16, 2022, 4:42 AM UTC

jjj123 wrote: post #426

wolverine876 wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I work with ultra-privileged people who by all accounts are “well adjusted” and I find them harder to deal with than people I grew up with from home. Many of them have no history of and don’t understand trauma, and as a result they’re unempathetic to what the literal majority of people experience. Financial issues aren't the only trauma in life, by a long shot. Plenty of people in that group have trauma. What makes…

I think you’re underestimating how much trauma correlates with wealth in America. It’s not just the trauma of being poor, it’s trauma of growing up in a dangerous area, or of your parents getting divorced, or of getting sexually assaulted, or of young friends or family members dying. All of which get far more likely the poorer you are. Obviously I’m not saying that there aren’t wealthy, Ivy League educated people wit…