Does having a decent amount of money mean that you should outwardly project that with your house, car, clothes belongings etc? There is a pressure I think to project success to others, so many expensive cars on the road now even though we are in a nationwide financial bad state. I realize its sort of relative but it isn't unusual to see a 50k car on the drive of a pretty modest house these days, if course many of these will be leased but do you think that people in general are pressured to project? And what is it all about? I've probably not worded this very well but there you go. I sometimes feel embarrassed by the old banger 13 yr old Vauxhall with a banged door on my drive and then check myself to not be daft. It isn't important to me 99% of the time.
"OUR TOSSPOT"
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250K house with a 75K motor outside it.
However they want to spend their money is fine by me, but I'd rather have a bigger house and a cheaper car, or maybe the same house but be over-paying to get rid of the mortgage rather than paying the monthlys on a 75K car.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
You simply have more sense than them and better priorities.
I learned a good while ago that it’s all pointless because there will ALWAYS be someone with more cash, more appetite to take credit, more desire to outspend, etc. You can never beat them so you’ll never be happy going down that route. I fail sometimes, as is human nature, but I’m trying.
Although I probably have spent 50k+ on travel in the last 20years
I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.
People say I'm just trying to fill the void in my heart with material possessions, but as a cardiovascular surgeon I know that such attempts end with a dead patient on the table and an awkward conversation with my insurers.
Ebay mark7777_1
Ebay mark7777_1
I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.
I made my car from about two hundred different part-works series, just the first issue of each (and one eBay job lot of a few dozen copies of issue 27 of the Titanic one). It's a pretty shit car to be fair.
Also mittens.
Sounds to me like you know your priorities - I'd be willing to bet that that 50k has done more for you than an equivalently priced car would have. You see a car as something to get from A to B and you'd much rather use that cash to go see C and D. Makes sense, that.
And a large chunk of it is aimed at the conspicuous consumption market, not the behind closed doors stuff that no-one's going to see. A flash car will be seen by plenty, so it's pretty effective. A flash watch is less effective. A fancy pair of underpants - not very effective at all (unless you wear them on the outside of course).
Sadly, advertising is designed to create all sorts of unnecessary wants. Add in some SM "influencers" and the school yard / school gate peer pressures, and then enable it all with never-never cheap finance, and everyone's happy.
Well, a few people are happy (mainly the ad creators and some shareholders), but most people are mostly unhappy.
They end up buying stuff that gives them no pleasure other than the quick-fix buzz. Then they see a new ad and realise that the Porsche Macan is only for the wannabees and it's really the Cayenne or bust.
"Being happy is wanting what you have, not having what you want"
I smile sadly when I read interviews with "people" who think that mortgage rates going up to 5%, 6%, whatever% will mean that they'll not be able to afford the repayments. I don't doubt that it'll be true for a significant number. Add in general inflation, and that we've become a subscriber-society (pay monthly, never own), and monthly outgoings for that significant number are going to get squeezed.
What goes first - the house, or one of the family's fancy cars?
My uncle retired about 15 years ago when he was in his mid 40's, and bought a flat in Hong Kong (and we all know how expensive properties are there). He walks around in John McClane style with a wife beater and shorts with flip flops. He shops in the same stores and eats in the same places as the next guy who lives in a shoe box.
Being flashy with your money is pointless, the people who see them are mostly strangers. Sure if you go to a work meeting, dress smart, but that is not the same as being flashy day to day.
I didn't consider a Cayenne for a second. We just don't need the extra space, cost or fuel spend. The Macan does absolutely everything I need and it eats miles which is fantastic when I'm up and down the 100 miles between here & Dubai often. I did of course consider a Boxster/Cayman though, but that has no room for guitars or cat carriers