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I recently moved to the desert. One thing that I’ve become acutely aware of is the lack of grass. Where I grew up everyone had a yard of grass; some people had a front yard and a back yard of luscious green blades of grass. Here, though, it’s a different story. Those people who do have a yard of grass do so at a terrible price. They must constantly water the grass in order to keep it alive. Running sprinklers in the desert to water grass is a ridiculous waste of precious resources. And for what? It’s all just for the sake of appearances.

I know a lot of people who do the same thing when it comes to their personal finances. They spend resources solely based on appearances. How many people have you ever met who had a super-huge house? Did they need all that room or was the McMansion just a ploy to make you think better of them?

From designer clothes, luxury brands of automobiles, to even the hippest electronic gadgets (designer headphones, anyone?) the market is awash with different items to buy just to make you look good in the eyes of others.

The sad fact is that often the folks engaging in this exchange of money for status are doing so with money they don’t have. I’ve met many people who had all the right stuff that the marketers told them to own. The assumption we’re meant to make is that these folks have it all together. The truth is that our brands don’t tell anyone who we really are.

Many a McMansion exhibit echoes throughout because it sits mostly empty – the homeowners can’t afford furniture. Listen to the rev of the engine on the expensive import luxury sports cars as it pulls up to the drive through window at the fast food joint so the owner can order the only meal she can afford off the dollar menu. These are the sounds of wastefulness for status’ sake.

Most people who seek bankruptcy protection aren’t people who didn’t earn enough; they’re people who spent too much of what they earned. Are you watering grass in the desert?

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13y ago

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