So when is enough enough?

[HauteMama]

ShimmaPuff, I don't disagree with anything you've said. However, I do believe that economics go full-circle, just as social attitudes and policies do. I may be naive, but it is my hope that with the changing tide in this country towards many other things, we may also see a change in the attitude that gov't is in place for corporations instead of the people.

Because discussions are prohibited from becoming too political here, I will leave it at that. We may not have reached the turning point yet, but it will come.

 

[EMMY]

My DH has always maintained that it is morally reprehensible to spend so much money on a PURSE. I can't offer any justification. It becomes more apparent how silly it all is when you tire of a look and yearn for the latest and greatest. I remember years ago when I bought my first "over the top" designer bag - a Jackie O Gucci classic for $575. At the time it was shocking to everyone in my circle. Nowadays my ceiling has far exceeded $575. I still have that bag but it has been degraded to a boring staid sort of everyday clunker. I do try to get everything on sale but when you add it all up - GULP! Could that money have gone to a better purpose? Of course. But to each his own.

^Well said...Loving these posts!!

 

[bagnshoofetish]

Those are just a few examples of how employers are increasing profits by cutting labor costs, and it does not mean that the "good jobs" are or will be non-existent. It does mean that percentage-wise, there will be fewer of them.

I totally get what you are saying now. And yeah it does look rather grim when you do consider how corporate everything is becoming. Our economic future looks like it may be heading toward the Japanese model of working for a major corp like Nissan and the benefits being that you will be treated at the "Nissan" hospital and your kids will go to "Nissan" schools and get "Nissan" jobs. All that said Puff, as far as the OP goes, "enough is enough" I guess when you can no longer afford your desires. Theres always a backlash to extravagance in history. This may be ours.

 

[ShimmaPuff]

...it is my hope that...we may also see a change in the attitude...corporations instead of the people...Because discussions are prohibited from becoming too political here, I will leave it at that....

LOL HauteMama, I hear you!

There is a scene toward the end of the series Six Feet Under, where the daughter is about to go off into the world, and her mother hugs her and tells her something to the effect of may you have hope as long as it is possible.

I do feel that I have been trying to walk a very fine line, and confine my remarks to economic issues, societal choices, and the lessons of history, and yes, I think leaving it at that is a good idea.

To return to a more "accessible" discussion of the original topic, since we can't really control the decisions that are made in the big conference rooms where rich men decide how best to obtain more money, nor can we change society because we think different choices should have been made (I think it will be OK for me to reveal that every government and corporation in the world is united in their longstanding policy of not listening to me), each one of us does have the ability to decide for ourselves what our priorities are, and what our values are, and live our lives accordingly.

Thus from an individual standpoint, enough is enough when we say it is. For example, I have a longstanding policy of not buying anything on eBay that costs more than $25, and I rarely spend more than $12-15 on a purse. Someone else's "enough" might be a higher number, but it is their choice to make, just as my choice is mine.

Theres always a backlash to extravagance in history. This may be ours.

Oh bagnshoo, I am sooo tempted to answer the other part of your post, but I really don't think I can do so in a way that would be appropriate for a fashion-oriented forum, but I totally agree that the study of history is the best way we have of knowing our future. And I totally envy your talent for brevity!

 

[compulsivepurse]

You make some excellent points. I did not grow up in a wealthy home, and have been sensible about budgeting, raising children with good values, etc. When people judge me negatively now because I carry a nice bag, I want to ask them if the way they spend money is the only acceptable way.

It is shocking what some designers are charging now. I have my own criteria for deciding if a bag is worth the pricetag; I'll never put our finances in jeopardy or stop charitable contributions. I can live with myself.

Agreed - The bags I buy now cost a lot more than the bags I bougt 10 years ago, because now it doesn't break our budget for me to buy them. We pay the mortgage, contribute to our 401ks, have 529 accounts for the kids, and have a 3 month "emergency fund" like the financial magazines tell us to have. So now if I've managed to save up enough to pay for a bag I can. If I can't pay cash for it I wait.

 

[Compass Rose]

My ceiling used to be $500. Now, I have eeeeked my way up to $600 because I found the perfect Kooba that I can't buy until the end of the year. Two years ago, I would have fainted to spend $250 on a bag. I just love to change them out so often, that I feel it would be ridiculous for me to edge near the $1000 mark. Although, I just read that the price of all leather products will be going up very soon, which will affect all of us.

 

[~Fabulousity~]

Everyone has made some good points in this thread, for me I do not buy anything I can't afford. I have not paid over $300 for a bag the most expensive bag I own is an LV Speedy 30 and that was a gift from my husband. I am so in love with B-bags and my husband tells me to go ahead and get one but I can't see me parting with $1200 for a bag when I could put that money in a college savings account for our child. It wouldn't hurt us for me to purchase a bag at that cost, but I just refuse to do it. Designers can charge what they want and as long as they see people will pay they will continue charging what some see at outrageous prices. I love bags, but they are not a priority in my life...

 

[Liberté]

What I kind of find scary when reading through this thread is that I kind of think that the ones who grow up now, including me, may have no price conception at all, since these prices are normal to us.. I notice it sometimes with my parents too, but I always explain to them "that's how the price is" and they understand. =-P They're not into fashion at all though.

 

[maryg1]

"get a job" would be my answer.

Great answer , but I doubt some young girls would agree with us

 

[maryg1]

I agree with everyone who said that's important to have a ceiling, this way you should never overspend.
Anyway I found myself thinking that I could spend 1500 € in a bag while a few months ago 300 € were way too much. Not that I've spent that sum on a bag now, but just the fact that I could do it scares me because I'm getting the high price bag mentality, and I'm not sure I can afford it.
Regarding kids...I still haven't kids, but I often find myself thinking: how can I teach my kids the value of money, when society imposes you to have luxury items (clothes, car, homes) and to live as a millionaire? I don't know how it goes in USA and other countries, but here in Italy it looks like you're nobody if you aren't wealthy, and some people have no value but money. They do the dirtiest jobs to become rich, this is their only goal.

 

[Vegas Long Legs]

NO flaming please but how about we can't afford it? That worked wonders when I was a kid. My life wasn't destroyed because I couldn't have something. This taught me personal responsiblity & that I can't have everything just cause my "earthsuit" desires it.

People should accept responsiblity for their own actions, they after all know what they can & can't afford. Why should companies curtail their marketing efforts?

 

[scholastican]

In my household, the standard is within our own four walls, not out there. What we try to adhere to and instill in our 2 children, we take with us when we leave the front door every single morning. We do not leave our values at home, and we teach them by way of example. Having said that, just because I choose to pay $1200 for LV, Celine or Gucci doesn't make me an immoral person. I do so for myself, not for anyone or anything else, and deservedly so.

Every individual has their own comfort zone. There is no right or wrong in this, it's just a matter of preference.

 

[divnanata]

What I kind of find scary when reading through this thread is that I kind of think that the ones who grow up now, including me, may have no price conception at all, since these prices are normal to us.. I notice it sometimes with my parents too, but I always explain to them "that's how the price is" and they understand. =-P They're not into fashion at all though.

OOOh - now that is a scary concept to me. I see it all around me. The children of my friends (and sad to say my own kids) have everything they could possibly want. Multiples even of phones, TV's, video games, computers. Yes they have jobs at fast food restaurants and the like but very often the money goes to support gas for a car given to them. And not just any clunker. High schoolers are given new luxury cars. When I was growing up - after I walked ten miles in the snow to school - I had to do without extravagant luxuries so it forced me to come up with a way to earn the money. There was never a sense of entitlement that exists today. But I don't blame the kids. I am only now able to go whole hog with the designer purses that I love but I have been climbing the corporate ladder for years to get to this point. The guilt from being a working mom led to the point where my daughter was voted "best dressed" her senior year and she had never worked a day in her life at that point. Then this same daughter goes away to school - on our dime - and promptly blows all the money she earned over the summer in the first month - spending it on $300 jeans and the like. It was supposed to last all year.She didn't know any differently. She felt "entitled". We have been trying to work through all this and I now do not buy her virtually anything but it was a tough road to go down. Back in the day there was a very popular "IT" bag in my town for highschoolers. We'd laugh at it today - a "Villager" camera type shoulder deal with your customized brass initials on it. I diligently saved up the $22 it costs for months and practically slept with it - I was so in love. My daughter doesn't know what this feels like. Ah - if I only had to do it all over again....

Now she sees me buying these expensive bags and she wants a MJ Stam but I am not going to do it - ever.

 

[winternight]

My parents always bought me expensive things but also taught me the value of education and work. I got Gucci bags as a teenager and still went on to law school and didn't spend like crazy in college or graduate school, instead I lived within my budget because reading was big in my house, and that included financial planning books.

 

[scholastican]

My parents always bought me expensive things but also taught me the value of education and work. I got Gucci bags as a teenager and still went on to law school and didn't spend like crazy in college or graduate school, instead I lived within my budget because reading was big in my house, and that included financial planning books.

Well said winternight! That is exactly the point here, and the same thing I am teaching my kids. It's the non-tangible things imparted in one's upbringing that takes you wherever you end up, no matter what social pressures there may be. They are privileged and fortunate enough to be well-provided for by their parents, but do not take things for granted and are very appreciative of all we do for them. I'm blessed they're nice, intelligent, polite kids and I hope they will turn out just as well as you have!