This time around, I don't think we need to go without though. I have plenty of good stuff, I just have nowhere else to put a 4th TV, 5th computer, 4th mp3 player, a 7th week of clothes, 3rd car, etc... I am basically down to food, mortgage (which could be paid off in 5-7 years if I wanted), energy and fuel. And I am even trying to cut back on those expenses, which no decline in my quality of life. Actually, I will probably feel better if I start cooking good food, walking/biking to work, and exercising more.
The Economics of Giving It Away - WSJ.com
Quote:
$0.00 is a very good price. Expect the shift toward open source software (which is free) and Web-based productivity tools such as Google Docs (also free) to accelerate. The cheapest and coolest computers today are "netbooks," which sell for as little as $250 and either ship with free versions of Linux or super-cheap old versions of Windows. The people who buy them don't load Office and pay Microsoft hundreds of dollars for the privilege. Instead, they use online equivalents, as the netbook name implies, and those tend to be free.
These same consumers are saving their money and playing free online games, listening to free music on Pandora, canceling basic cable and watching free video on Hulu, and killing their landlines in favor of Skype. It's a consumer's paradise: The Web has become the biggest store in history and everything is 100% off.
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But can the government force me to spend money? Is it businesses and companies that need to produce a product that I want? But coming out with new innovative things is hard. And the quality I require from new products would mean that they should last for years without a monthly service fee. And it seems that the only companies that are doing ok have one. The car companies could take a lesson from the auto insurance, cell phone company, gas company, and a bunch of other businesses that create a product that people use everyday and would be willing to keep paying for the privilege to continue to use it.
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Edit: I found a story that describes what I was talking about perfectly. A lot better than I did and you guys should read it.
Philip Slater: Why Free-Market Capitalism Will Follow Communism Into the Trash-Heap of History--Part III:
And I should tell you that I went through my own economic great depression in 2003. I have taken a few risks with money and borrowing after 4 years of saving, but I still am very protective and leery of spending money. Especially when I see who is making the most. There are quite a few months when I saved closed to 50% of my after-tax income.
While I don't think the economy is nowhere close to the outlook and past state of my finances, I think people are afraid it will get there, and are making it so. Then again, my Grandpa went through the great depression in the 1930s and I think it made him live a cheap life. But, the problem today is that my lifestyle and my neighbors are probably similar, but I spend much less, without going without. I may have to work harder, but I worry about too many people becoming like me a little.