Broken Homes

I know I am probably preaching to the choir by even giving this article attention. Oh, but the joys of pointing out the American dream of keeping up with those so-called Joneses! That family who lurks on every residential street, sneaking ways into making you feel like a cheapskate, even though our credit limits are bursting and our subprime mortgages are skyrocketing.

Let me give you a little glimpse into my life right now. Before we moved to California, we owned a Pontiac Sunfire and a Buick Century (which is fitting, because its namesake just about reflected its age). The Century had been declared totaled in a low-speed crash, but was still drivable. The last time I drove it was to the junkyard, where it spewed white smoke the whole way. I had to nearly rip the rusted bolts to get the license plates off. And now, ever since I paid off the Sunfire, the two front window motors have busted (the passenger window is not rolled up all the way and is therefore taped), and someone stole my license plate, so now I have the new one taped in my back window. It has paint scrached off where my husband accidentally brushed a concrete barrier during an ice storm in Rochester. It got a flat tire last month, has milk stains from where Rach spilled her bottle, and is now considered the winter beater. The strap that keeps half the exhaust attached broke, so any time I hit a speed bump, the exhaust pipe bounces uncontrollably.

We live in a two-bedroom apartment that kisses 101 (main interstate to San Francisco). It's loud and dirty with the car pollution. Other people in our apartment complex drive Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and rotate brand-new cars into their lease schedule every year or so.

And you know what? Who cares? Does anyone get to take their fancy cars to the grave? Will we get to listen to our iPods in the afterlife? Good golly Ned. This is the plague that has snatched our middle class into a sickening spiral of spending: Even the feds tell us that more spending is good for the economy. But the uber-rich aren't spending their money in stores on stuff that is going to depreciate after two years, so you can leave out those spenders. It's the low and middle classes that are being called on to open their wallets, only because the ultra-rich know how to use their money in a way that will MAKE MORE OF IT. MORE MONEY. Not more STUFF. Why do you think the Spice Girls got together to do a reunion tour? I bet none of them knew what investing their money meant, then said "Oh, bollocks! We better go do a reunion tour." (That kind of thing happens more often than you think.)

Look, the famous are mostly like us low and middle class folks: They still have to work for their money. If they stop working, they money stops coming in. Maybe they'll float for a while, but when all is said and done, they work for their money. Money doesn't work for them. It's sickening how we put these folks on a pedestal and long after their riches. They're no different in their spending habits.

All right - so the point is, the Millers have a dreadful $50,000 in their HELOC (home-equity line of credit), which is simply debt; no savings to speak of, not even in emergency funds or college funds. When you look at the bottom line, the father is earning six figures, and their output is more than that! Spending more than six figures in Utah! And these people are supposed to be teaching the next generation that having the newest toy is the way to earn prestige, pride and satisfaction? How about constant disappointment at being outdone all the time, feeling the need to catch up constantly?

I... I just don't know. It's one thing to take out a huge loan or credit advance to try to do something on your own, but it's another to just nickel and dime yourself out of a decent retirement. This poor guy is never going to get to retire. Do they know that Social Security will probably run out by the time they're eligible? And why, oh WHY is someone who is nearly half their age outraged by their short-sightedness? They're not doing the kids any favors by buying expensive cell phones. Eventually they're going to be put in nursing homes, and their kids are going to go into all sorts of debt paying for that because they have no savings. And don't get me started on what would happen if these folks won the PowerBall. They'd be dead broke in three years, maybe less.

I'd say that about 90% of the population fall into this category, this category of "spender." That includes Hollywood darlings and Wal-Mart creepers alike. As I've mentioned in the past, being smart with money means you're going to need to learn how to live with old things and make them last. Spending money on depreciating items will just destroy the value of your dollar. Can we suck up our pride for once and learn that some sacrifice now might pay off in the future? (Maybe it's just easier for me to tell my kid to knock it off with the spending habits. She's not going to absolutely DIE if she doesn't have her designer clothes.)