Monday, July 4, 2011

What's Up with America?

Disclaimer before my Rant: I love America and am proud to be an American and there is no other place on earth I would rather live.... Thus Said.... here are my thoughts on today, the 4th of July.

I was raised with this mentality...
"Never spend your money until you've earned it"
and
"Know this, some unexpected expense WILL come along, so save any extra you can find" thanks to my Dad for these wise words.


As I left Wal-Mart at 6:30 AM today,  I overheard this  conversation between 2 men, working for just above minimum wage cleaning floors at Walmart. One  sat waiting for the bus after working all night, the other was waiting just inside for McDonald's to open for morning coffee. The one on the bus bench says

"come on, I will take you to Starbucks"
"man are you sure?" with surprise in his voice
"sure, I'm sure!" says last of the big time spenders

Say What? does he realize he could buy coffee for a month for the price it will cost him?

 
My children and others say, I CAN"T Save for hard times, I barely make enough to live.

My answer to that is "Skip the Starbucks and put that money in an envelope for emergency's,

skip the big gulp at the 7-Eleven. skip the bottles out of the drink box at 1.25 each and Save for what WILL happen
Skip the trip to Disney and stop the "I deserve a vacation" mentality. Brown bag your lunch. Forget the sausage biscuit each day on the way to work, you can buy a whole week of breakfast with one day at the drive through.

I have seen co-workers eat breakfast and lunch out daily and then not have the money to buy gas for their car or to stock up on hurricane supplies when a storm threatens.

We have become a nation of get it now, get it all NOW. bigger, better, more is the motto.
Me first and Me always, the I deserve this!

Has America become the land of the slave to materialism? A land of Spend it all even if I don't have it?

PS, all photos were taken on my trip to Wal-Mart except the header which is a flag I took several years ago. All Photos are my own.

28 comments:

Unknown said...

A very Sobering, Post Madsnapper.

Anonymous said...

Well said. Love the photos. Happy 4th.

Deb said...

well said....you are a woman of wisdom...

Betty Manousos said...

love this post~you're such a wise woman, Sandra.

i thoroughly enjoyed it!

betty xx

p.s. i'm trying to catch up on your posts.

Christine said...

People just don't use common sense any more Sandra. Hubby and I will have what we need when those rainy days come. I hope your post will hit home with more folks today. Enjoy the 4th.

Unknown said...

Great, post filled with truth! Not all of us, but most of the people in this country are living in a "if it feels good, do it!" world. We were bought up to believe if you did not have the money to pay for it, you didn't need it. Greed is tearing this world apart. No matter what people have, they want more! I agree with every word you say! Every time we pray we ask God to save this world, because at this point, only He can! With all our faults, I am still proud to be an American. God bless America!
Madeline

Ruth Hiebert said...

I so agree with you.During the school year,I drive by our local TIm Hortons and often think that if I could have the money that is left there in one morning,I would be very happy.

George said...

Thanks for sharing a thoughtful (and truthful) post with us. Almost everyone seems to think that they are 'entitled' to whatever they want when they want it. It's sad.

Angela said...

You and I think the same way! I wish others did too! I love your pictures with the flag imposed on them! That's neat!

.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·`¤
Happy 4th of July!
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·`¤

Angela

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

Sandra, Your words ring true for many. Part of our personality is to keep making things "better" which used to be shown by our stuff. Our "stuff" used to be land, animals and more comfortable/bigger homes. Now that "stuff" is so easy to get, we seem to have trouble stopping our push for acquisition.
nellie

srp said...

And this mind set is modeled by the Federal Government and is now so out of control, I sometimes wonder if a fix is even possible.

DawnTreader said...

It's much the same here. I think politicians as well as media and advertisements keep feeding us mixed messages. One day we're told to save, the next to consume!

SquirrelQueen said...

While I do agree with what you say about saving and careful spending I hear something different in the conversation between the two men.

I hear two friends talking, perhaps the one is having an especially hard time and is feeling down. I hear a friend offering a special treat, which probably neither would even consider most of the time, to lift his friend's spirits. Just my take on the situation.

Remington said...

GREAT post, my friend! Love the pics. Have a Happy 4th....

Betsy Banks Adams said...

AMEN.... Excellent post, Sandra..... I know you enjoy keeping things 'funny'---but I love these kind of posts too... Keep 'em coming...

We have turned into a selfish, greedy people --here in the USA... It starts with our leaders in Washington DC. They are 'supposed' to set a good example for us. HA---that 'ain't' happening!

We need to think about our ancestors and how they made it --on very little money. They never asked for anything from anyone. These days ---everyone seems to be expecting a handout. GADS!!! What has happened to America?

Hugs,
Betsy

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

It is so hard for some to see your point but it is true. Needed and love the pics...

Mersad said...

I saw you commenting on a couple of blogs I read and decided to stop by and visit. It was definitely worth it :) Following now!

I agree with your post, but I also fear the "more is better" and "I have to get this now" mentality is spread wider then the US.

Chatty Crone said...

Well I think we need to live within our means and savings is a part of that - if we make a lot save and if we make less still save!

Scott Law said...

So right. Fortunately for me, my wife has always agreed with you and kept us with none or very little debt. We're far from rich, but we won't starve soon and the only times I've ever been in a Starbucks or similar place was because I was with or meeting someone and they've never got a dime out of my pocket.

Leontien said...

Yep Sandra, your right! Maybe in the future i'm planning a Crazy American's and spending...

And YOU can come to MY house anytime to get a check mark behind you Bucket List... ;-)

Leontien

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Sandra, indeed a wake-up America post, except that here you are "preaching to the choir" cause most of us reading and agreeing with you already know about saving and conserving and have already done that in our (ahem) "younger" days. That said, it is still an important message. I'm sure we all know family, friends and others who fail to realize that they need to conserve, cut out, brown bag, cook at home, reduce expenses and hold off on extraneous buys - yet many will simply NOT.

Jama said...

A lot of people are just earning from pay check to paycheck , without any saving. Some would rather splurge in latest gadgets than save that money. I always believe in saving for the future.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Hi Sandra, I came over from another blog, I think Arkansas Patti. I just had to tell you that I agree with what you've said and love your photos. I just bought a new sofa and it wasn't easy to part with the money! But my other one was close to 20 years old and I think it was time. (Hubby will retire in a few years and we figured we better do some of these things while he's still working.) I know some young people who change out their sofas more often than I change shoes! And then they can't figure out why they don't have any money. Well, duh! And I'm old enough to remember when having a soda was a once in a while treat and the youngun's today drink it like water. You have a nice blog and I'd like to follow, so I'll sign up right now. Nice to meet you! ~Cheryl

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Oops, I was wrong. It was Betsy from TN. Sorry for the extra comment, but when I find out I'm wrong about something I try to correct it!

Ann said...

I so agree with you on this one. Everyone today has their priorities all screwed up. Forget that you need to pay the rent, we need a new cell phone. We'll worry about groceries later, lets go to the movies tonight. It's crazy.
I grew up with a father who never had a credit card and didn't even take out a car loan. If he didn't have cash he couldn't afford it and he made do with what he had. He worked hard, saved his money, built his own home and we lived on a lot of generic brand food. It was a good lesson and a good life.

Rose said...

I read you had a rant on your comment at Betsy's and had to come see...even though I am behind on all my normal blogs...but I couldn't agree more...and some of them I say to myself....

Kilauea Poetry said...

I hope you had a lovely 4th Sandra!! I think your flag header looks terrific too! Thats one thing with the economy, people will have to change their priorities. I aways wonder when I see cars just burning gas in those lines too. At least when you cook at home you have the benefit of knowing what you put in your food too-

Dawning Inspiration said...

It's amazing what you learn to do without when you have not the income to buy what you once thought naught about...
Great post!