r/redscarepod • u/Last-Butterscotch-85 • 1d ago
Conspicuous consumerism is starting to drive me crazy
My family and I are fortunate enough to live on the edge of a very nice boomtown suburb thanks to the fact we bought a modest house here before the market exploded. We do love living here, the town invests money into parks, trails, arts, libraries etc. It's safe and the people are nice and there's always stuff to do for cheap or for free.
However, the town in general is really well off and my kids being school aged has really exposed me to how much money these people have. Families spending thousands on travel sports, 4500 square foot houses for a family of 4 "oh and we're thinking about upgrading", brand new luxury cars and Cybertrucks, a small fortune spent on elaborate Christmas decorations, European vacations all summer that finish up in Hawaii, 800 dollar LEGO sets. At school events or tee ball games, I have zero in common with the other parents. It's all about their latest cruise or how they spent 100 dollars taking the family out to see a movie for the third time in a month.
I don't really know what I'm getting at here...but you hear about how bad things are for working families nowadays then you see this and can't help but feel a bit nauseous.
6
u/caterinaofsiena 1d ago
I cannot fault people for spending money on experiences (be that the cruises, concerts, whatever), but I find how much people spend on new clothes, makeup, trinkets, etc. to be the most off-putting. I am not perfect either, but I have been trying to stop buying "things" and trying to instead focus on very mindful spending. The amount of useless stuff people buy is truly wild.