Overspent Americans

“Overspent Americans” talks about how American lifestyles and spending habits have changed throughout the years. The United States was considered to be, at one point, a “leisure society”; there was even talk of switching to a 4 day work week. Too much time on our hands seemed to be the major problem throughout the states. Then, Americans were trying to “keep up with the Jones’s” or “the Gates’s”. Possessions started to turn into status symbols. Everyone was trying to keep up or one-up their neighbors. Firms took some control over the employees and things started to change. Classes were starting to be grouped by “personal possessions” (depending on who you talked too). American’s now a days face tremendous credit card debt. The documentary determines that some Americans buy items based solely on the brand name or the status it carries in society. Buying items by what you needed changed to buying items by what you wanted. “Living within your means” was soon thrown out the window. Brands and logos were chosen over quality and durability. Things have changed.

I agree with some of the documentary. The documentary states that purchasing certain items can pose as a status symbol to peers or co-workers. The example of SUV’s in cities helps define this. SUV’s are designed with four wheel drive to help get through snow or mud, but people in the cities were starting to buy these vehicles based on the status symbol they carried. People don’t care whether they are more expensive or impractical; they buy them because they are the “it” thing at the time. Another good example was the t-shirt test. Different company labels on the shirts influenced the way people ranked them, even though all three shirts were exactly the same. Jewelry is flaunted as to show you have the money to buy it; a necklace can be seen but figures in a bank account cannot. People buy brands because they were recognizable. Cars, clothes, jewelry, or homes are shown off and flaunted. They are status symbols.

“Work hard, play even harder”. That is what we hear in today’s society. Musicians and actors speak those very words whether on a song or in a movie. Media is a big influence on people today. We see celebrities on television with fancy cars, expensive jewelry, million dollar houses, and fashionable clothes. Like I previously stated, brands of clothing or cars can influence what consumers buy; price doesn’t seem to be a factor. The documentary states that 25% of people with $100,000 of annual income say they do not have the money for basic necessities. When did $100,000 not become enough to provide the basic necessities for your family? I could live off of an income of $100,000. I wonder how many people in that percentage have expensive cars or large houses. “Living within your means” is something that we have gotten away from. We work 50 hours a week and we feel we need to spend money to show that. I can’t be a hypocrite because if I’m working long hours and getting paychecks on a regular basis I’ll buy things I probably don’t need. I might be more willing to entertain the idea to eat out or rent more movies or whatever because I know that money is sitting in my pocket. American’s do not realize how much debt they are actually in, according to the documentary. We all need to determine the difference between needs and wants. Something I feel like I need (a new cell phone) my end up just being a want. I can’t pass judgment because I do some of these things, but I can see where this documentary is coming from.

How do you feel? Do you think this documentary is accurate? Are these issues blown out of proportion? Do we have a spending problem?