You can have anything you want, but you can't have everything you want

Russel - Wanting "things" is where most get into trouble--believing they'll create or increase happiness.  We can have anything we want, but if the item desired is a thing, acquiring it will make little difference in the overall scheme of things.  

So many people love to hear the ooohs and ahhhs from family and friends instead of staying within a budget and living within their means. There's trouble to be had with this kind of thinking for sure!

Our nation is spoiled rotten.  We once had it all, defined as the 57% of all world GDP consumed by Americans in any year in the early sixties.  We don't have/consume that much any more - just 30-35%.  One decade soon, we are going to look around and see that the percentage we consume is roughly equal to our 5-6% of world population.

They we will be singing many sad songs.

Hi Russell, another great post! Thanks and hopefully after The Great Recession" mindsets will change!

Russel,

Very wise advice from a very wise man....

Jo

Pay cash when you shop: I'll guarantee you won't spend more then what you have in your pocket. In most cases once you get that "thing" you just had to have when the newness wears off it isn't important anymore. Sometimes it is impulse buying and keeping up with The Jones Family.

Hi Russel, You are so right, a good lesson for all.  I feel sorry for children who have so many things to play with nothing is special.  I guess that goes for adults, too!

Russel, this reminds me of an article I read about "too many choices" - I think someone actually wrote a book about too many choices.  The theory is that when we have too many choices, it makes it harder for us to decipher which we really want.  Good post!  Thanks!

If wants are things....accumulating more things is not the key to happiness...but you knew that.

You are absolutely correct Russel, the problem with this Mom is she is already showing the one year old, that they can have it all and worse yet, that the parents will supply it ALL without the child doing anything for it! Very dangerous road.  Now we were going to ask you about this new camera we NEED.....LOL

Good post Russel. I think a lot of people are returning to what you are talking about.

Russel...Great advice.  I agree our society has created the "get/have everything" monster.  It's a shame that children don't learn that to acquire things, you must work hard.  It is so much more appreciated if you set a goal to get something, work hard and actually achieve it.  Buying things we can't afford is a sure recipe for financial disaster.

Russel:  This is one of the hardest things for a parent to curb, control, educate and guide!  It's so easy to just give in when they are young and much, much easier!  I could go on and on about this all day, as it is a hot topic for me now that I have hind site kicking my butt!

I also have a great song to describe this societal dilemma.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"....(but if you try sometimes...you get what you need).  Rolling Stones, of course!

Hey, that reminds me I still haven't received my bonus points for participating in the contest.....Just a friendly reminder! :)

Hi, Russel. Carl and Ceil Winters said it in Comment #7..."pay cash when you shop."

I used to go grocery shopping at Walmart, up and down the aisles, putting into my cart whatever I thought I needed and I paid by check. It was usually around $250. Then I started taking $200 in cash instead and I made much more judicious choices about what went into the cart...it was truly amazing.

I keep money in a safe deposit box and when I decide to buy something or do something, it's a pretty onerous process to retrieve the cash. I am always reluctant to see the supply diminish and it really makes me think long and hard about how bad I want to buy or do whatever it was that I thought I did.

I grew up in a household where, if you couldn't afford to pay for it, you weren't going to have it but, as I became an adult, credit was available and it was all too easy to run up those cards. Older and wiser now, I have had to re-train myself!

Russel,

A big part of the problem where we are today is caused by this very thing.

When I found out I was pregnant, we decided that instead of buying lots of toys, we'd focus on buying high quality toys for our son, even it it meant having fewer of them. I have read that one of the reasons children get so bored, and have so much trouble picking up after themselves, is that they get overwhelmed by too many choices and can't decide what to use or play with.

Makes sense to me, because I had the same problem myself, but with clothes and other "stuff" - taking some good advice, I got rid of about 2/3 of my wardrobe and 1/2 my shoes, but no longer find myself with "nothing to wear" because I can find what I do have, and got rid of those things that don't fit right and make me feel good about wearing them.

Hey, Folks!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I'll read through all the comments and respond to any that have a question or otherwise need a response. Otherwise I just note in my huge, monster, gigantic Excel database that you stopped by and commented. That, of course, means that I'll be stopping by your blog to read and comment, so make sure you have some good reading for me so I don't have to resort to Stephen King or something. LOL

Meanwhile, best wishes to everyone for health, happiness, peace, and prospertiy, and a great summer of fun and food with family and friends.