The Pursuit of Stuff: Sacrificing Your Future for the Pursuit of Materialistic Happiness

Why do parents sacrifice their future for a single moment in time? I see parents shopping with their children in tow and anything that child wants the parent throws in the cart. Then I get behind them at the checkout lane and they are paying for it with a credit card. Credit card debt equals broke. Let me say that again, credit card debt equals broke!

If you do not have the cash to purchase the item than you do not need it. Period.

Parents are sacrificing money that they could be saving for their retirement to buy their children a new outfit that they really do not need in the first place. It is a vicious never ending cycle that parents get themselves in. "We" as Americans are in the pursuit of stuff. We equate "stuff" with happiness. Have you ever been in a home of a parent that did not have their living room full of toys? Which most was probably paid for with a credit card that still has not been paid for yet. Then you see parents giving away these barely used toys to other families or selling it at a yard sale for a fraction of what they paid for it. Meanwhile, that toy probably still is not paid for yet and it cost them double the selling cost that Target sold it to them for with the cost of interest. The child probably played with the empty box and had more fun than they did with the toy. I think a lot of times, the parent is buying it for themselves.

Most homes are so jammed full of "stuff" it is bursting at the seams. Have you been in a Walmart or Target on a Monday morning? Every stay at home mom is their with all of her children filling up on more "stuff" that they probably do not need, charging it on a credit card with money they do not have, while dad is at work trying to keep up with this rat race.

I have a better thought, let's take the toddlers to Disney where we can charge the park tickets, airline seats, rental car, hotel cost, food, parking, souvenirs, and even a bottle of water on a credit card. All for a trip that a two year old is not going to remember and you are going to be paying for, for the next nine years.(see calculation below)

Let's just say you got a bargain trip to Disney for a week that you put on your Discover Card for a mere $4000.00.
At 18% interest, $75.00 monthly minimum payments, it will take you 9 years to pay off the debt and your total repayment will cost you $8100.00.

You can take that $75.00 a month and deposit it in a good mutual fund that has an average yearly return of 12% and we will figure in a 2% inflation rate. After nine years of that $75.00 monthly payment to your mutual fund it will be worth $13,105.00.

I hope you had a nice trip at Disney!!!!!!! It cost you $13,105.00.

Forgive me for using "stay at home moms" as an example. I completely understand that the profession truly is priceless.