Rejection of Consumer Culture

My decision is about 50/50. I want to be self sufficient, and reject the "I need more things to have status" mentality.

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I saw an article recently that money only buys happiness until a person reaches the $50,000 income level. It was a scientific study on happiness, and they concluded that an increase in income actually triggers good feelings in the brain as the lower-income individual reaches the $50,000 mark and then the biological effect slowly wears off after that. The respondents also reported that people with higher incomes spend more time engaging in activities associated with negative emotions like stress. This suggests that a middle-class income combined with its associated stress levels makes people more happy than a higher income and its consequences.

Food for thought.

Non consumerism was a necessity here. When the kids were at home through college and we were buying the little house the only way to make a dollar go as far as it needed to was to be a non-consumer. I started being self sufficient because I had to. The kids learned it because the money was not there for all the frills of the time. It is funny, now that the kids are gone and the farm is paid for and we have decent vehicles I'm still frugel, well almost, there are things I spend money on that I could do without, mostly things that bring us pleasure, don't buy clothes and shoes much but keep me out of the hardware store), we're saving money still. I remember trying to save a couple dollars and it seems like the money I put aside was always needed for something - now our savings are growing very well by themselves, never thought I'd see the day.

Another thing that makes us such a consuming country is that it is very difficult to find anyone to fix anything anymore. This monitor I'm looking at is an excellent example (internet and the computer are one of my splurges, not really necessary) it is making funny sounds this morning and I know if it dies I will not be able to find anyone to fix it and will have to buy a new one or go without. Most things we buy now days seem to be designed to wear out in a year or two.

I wonder how much that has to do with Maslow's heirarchy of needs?
(For those who haven't seen it or forgot, Maslow said that every human has levels of needs. He stacked them into a pyramid. On the bottom are the body needs, eating, breathing, warmth etc. As long as those needs are not met, a person cannot think about the next level - )

In light of his ideas, that would indicate that it takes around 50k to meet your basic needs in this society.
There must be many false status symbols that people are confusing with needs, in order to keep that income level so high.

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Hut on the Hill Farm
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Hut on the Hill Farm
http://www.hutonthehill.org

What exactly is the "consumer culture"?

It seems to me that we homesteaders have our own subset of it.

.....Alan.

First country property was for putting in a big garden, 2 beehives, some muskovy ducks, chickens for egg layers, and that helped with some self suffieciency....for some food supply anyway. It wasn't motivation to be rid of consumer excess. That was nearly 20 years ago. the 'homesteading' hobby farm aspect was appealing as a pastime lifestyle in the country.
As I've moved further out into the country on more land stewardship, the less I am enchanted with consumerism. The decision making is more and more to have 'need' for the crap we don't need. Thus I am more aware to consume less, maintain more of my own response to the environment by composting, conserving, recycling, and less fossil fuel consumption.
No one will ever get away from total consumerism, even living on the stead. We consume power from the utility company or if you were off grid, you'd be consuming the stuff used to make your off grid components, we still consume basic wants, but one can conserve and live simpler with less waste, and a better way to reduce, plant trees to help the environment, and so on. It's an individual consciousness, I believe.

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The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.

I still want a Yanmar F1500D tractor. Do I need it? Yes. Do I want to spend $8000 for something that sits most of the time? No. Do I like driving my tractor? Yes. Does my Farmall Cub start every year with a little massaging? Yes Can I afford the Yanny? Yes. Do I want to spend the money? No. My one justification for not buying is that our neighbor has $16,000 worth of Kubota that sits most of the time. Am I confused or what?

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United states of America

Born July 4, 1776

Died November 4, 2008

Suicide

Oh, I'm not sure about that. For example, the higher the income, generally the higher the education level. I would hesitate to call a student loan a status symbol (though the letter telling you you've made your last payment is), but the cost of education makes a dent in your net income if you've financed the tuition, which most people do regardless of income. Sure, you can argue that financing your education is an example of American consumerism, but this example goes to show that sometimes it takes money to make money.

Wow, I could talk for a week on the subject, but I will try to keep it short.

The need to leave the consumer culture behind is one of the strongest motivations for me to get out of the city, the other reasons are probably the need for self reliance and independance. I live and work in an extremely affluent area and find others consumption disgusting. I feel this way for several reasons, first, the consumption of our natural resources, second, the inherent dissatisfaction these people still have despite their possesions, and third their total lack of any desire to truly help people in need including their own children. The first thing anybody does around here when they make a little money is build a 4000+ sq ft home, buy a luxury SUV, and a big screen TV, not to mention enerything else. All I think about is what they could do for the world with that money, or even closer to home, such as expelling drugs and violence from our own community. I understand the disturbing reasons why they do what they do, marketers have conned them into thinking these things will make them happy, and if they don't buy, the other conned people will view them as inferior. The only solution for me is to get out and get close to others that share my point of view. Although, I have chosen the strategy of using the consuming masses to build some wealth before I get out so that I can avoid some of the financial pitfalls of living in area with unstable employment, ect. I sometimes question that choice when I am sitting in traffic with heartburn. There was once a day, and in someplaces this is still true, that when someone purchased an extravagance such as a luxury car, they were frowned upon by the community, but not here. Americans have been given the gift (or perhaps the curse) of tremedous wealth and yet we are squandering it on extravagance. I heard it said in an interesting way the other day, the person said that Americans were fat; fat bodies, fat cars, and fat houses, I couldn't have said it better myself. I almost wonder if it takes an event such as the Great depression to get people to change their ways, that is pretty bad if that is what it takes...

I will get off my box now...

I consider myself very much a part of the consumer culture. It's just my 'wants' are different from the mainstream. They want prettier cars, I want a good truck. They want dressy clothes, I want more jeans. They want a pedigreed dog, I want pedigreed sheep. The only 'real' difference I see is that I get full use of my (handmade) soap when I take a shower.

Seriously, though, as much as I'll continue to work to provide my own food, because I want (there's that word again) healthy, antibiotic and hormone free meat, and fresh fruits and veggies, it's still consumerism.

I have friends and family that consider me and people like me (this means You!) to be the high-'want' consumer, since we don't want things in the mainstream, but instead insist on 'extras'. Fencing, tractors, livestock, feeds, seeds, tillers, hoes, rakes...wooden handles? plastic? ergonomic?
What? Don't want to throw it out like 'normal' folks? Want it recycled? Gee, your wants created a whole new industry, causing even more pollution, ya know.

Still, I much prefer my lifestyle to the mainstream. I prefer recycling...at home if possible. I prefer buying fence to fashion. It's what I want. But it's just a different type of consumerism.

Meg

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All life requires death to support itself. The key is to have an abiding respect for the deaths that support you. --- Mark T. Sullivan

I go tired of the things we buy that sift to the bottom of the drawers.
A few years ago we had a Sears card. I think it was 21 percent intrest. The minimum payment was $12 a month. We didn't know any better so that is all we payed. Then they came up with this $10 charge if we were late on the payment. So even though we made the payment the balance went up , not down like it was supposed to. We had put a $1000 washer dryer set on the card. We scrounged up enough to pay it off in full and cut up the card.
That is the only credit card we have ever had.
Now if we want something we save our maoney and pay cash. We have no dept, and Dh pays the bills on time. It's the best way to do things.
When I went on a fishing trip with my brother, he was so proud of his nice new boat and Dodge truck. I thought it was pretty cool till I found out he had taken a loan out on his 10 acres and 3 story house to get them.
If people realized how many more things they could buy with the inttrest money they pay they might stop this. But maybe they just don't care.

Meg, there is a pretty good difference between your consumption and the average person. You buy the truck and fence to raise food, fiber, ect, this produces value, the "bad" consumer buys the truck and the plasma TV to show off to his buddies, not to produce any value. Thus his purchase is a liability (increased gas and electricity consumption) instead of an investment. The line between consumption and investment can get very blurry but that is the basic point. I recalled the name of a really good book about consumption called "Luxury Fever" the economics may be a little advanced for some folks, but the book makes some great points.

My brother and sister have great incomes and are 15 yrs older. I always knew I could never "catch up" and compete. I went the other way how can we reject the toys. BTW, I am glad for them as they have great lives they are happy with. If I tried to Keep up w/ the Jones, I would just be miserable in a game I could NEVER win.

DH and I wanted to be secure in our lives. No stress about bills. for the most part we are there. Until we get a couple of bills like car & house insurance on top of each other along w/ x- mas comming. Things can get dicy quickly even when we are trying to be good. My back surgery earlier this year also put a dent on savings. If we had lots of other bills we would be in BIG trouble.

when buying "stuff" there is always something bigger and better comming out- cell phones, PC's, TV... why buy it when it is "junk" before you get it to your car.

DH and I also really wanted for him to be able to retire at a early age. He didn't want to be 70 and still "having" to work.

We are always having to find a balance on how much to spend and save. It is true you can't take it with you, and if you leave it to your kids and have amassed anything the Gov't will help themselves. Spend too much and we are a slave to the 9-5.

I think it is good for kids to learn some times ther is no money available right now and it is *okay* to wait and dream until there is money available. Dreaming is half the fun.

I am blessed that DH and I both have the same idea on money. It would not be pretty if one of us could never have money in the bank.

Nope, I'm still a part of the consumer society, only now I ogle new tractors instead of cars. lol

It began with reading literature that was written at the time that Nietsche and Schoppenheur (perhaps bad spelling because I am tired) talked about the philosophy of non-existance and the lack of anything beyond this world. Add to that the matter of learning things and trying to stay current when the standards of technology continue to advance. I also began to lose the enjoyment of some of my hobbies because the equipment reached the point where it was more about technology and built in abilities than using your brain and intellect to do the job.

Simplicity of life and total existance for me came slowly as the only logical alternative to trying to conform to the wastefulness of our society. I have reached the point where I don't care what others do as they do what motivates them and rewards their actions. I, however, do what makes sense to me.

Too many people have no sense of personal purpose or identity apart from the things they acquire which is disheartening. However, that is their choice. I aspire to live a purposeful, focused, simplistic life to the best of my ability. Practical and functional over form and aesthetics.

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I would challenge anyone here to think of a question upon which we once had a scientific answer, however inadequate, but for which now the best answer is a religious one. – Sam Harris

I am coming along to a non consumerist lifestyle, because I'm so disgusted to see people pour over the ads in the paper on the day after thanksgiving looking for the latest gadget they can get. It is truly disgusting. I will admit, I didn't really need a laptop when I bought this one, and I still owe on it. I hope to pay it off real soon, but I knew that it would come in handy, as I was a housesitter at that time, and needed a way to be online when I wanted without having to lug a PC back and forth. I am tired of trends, and fashion. I like nice clothing, but I'm tired of the mindset behind the crap. I'm tired of watching those commercials and knowing they are made on a fifth grade level. It's all part of dumbing down our society. I am fully ready to reject television. I was talking with a group of friends, and one friend said that a memo to Anchors for Fox News told them to "spin" what they were saying. It is disgusting! I thought I would appreciate having a TV, but I really don't care. Once in a great while, it is nice, but I enjoy peace and quiet now more than anything else. At work, I have all but stopped listening to the rock stations, and listen to NPR instead. It is great music to work with, and keeps me from running to the radio looking for that elusive "good song"
Michelle

I think both of these people hit the nail on the head. We are all "consumers" although on this forum more times than I care to think about it I've seen a competitive race down the food chain: one person posts that they bought a new whatever and are thrilled, the next 10 posts are from people who got something like it cheaper, used, or free. Reverse snobbery if there ever was.

I like my lifestyle, but to call it "anti-consumer" is to revel in self-delusion. A quick look at my books will show the same expenses Meg shows: fencing and feeders, rams, and a fair amount of desel powered iron for harvesting wood. If we were really "anti consumer" we'd pick sticks up off the ground 24/7. Instead we use a Kubota. Which, as someone rightly pointed out, spends a lot of its life just sitting under cover and being very orange.

I wish we could frame the discussion differently, and I have a selfish reason for this: our young friends (10 and 7) are being exposed to us on a regular basis. Their mother most emphatically does not approve of us, and refers to us as "the rednecks." In VT this is a major insult. "Woodchucks" is the "term of endearment" for people living the "lifestyle." Redneck is distinctly derogatory.

She is into "nice clothes, nice life." No sheep ;-)

But to explain to the kids that we're "anti-consumerism" isn't accurate. But I've yet to come up with a "kid sized" way of explaining the subtle differences between our lifestyles which make us so offensive to their mother... and, to tell the truth, make their mother's lifestyle so offensive to us. It isn't that I don't like the woman, but I certainly don't "approve" (as if it were up to me to approve of disapprove!) of her spending choices.

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Perhaps the difference is in the experiences our money buys. Every consumption decision which is made with choices is about buying an experience. NY strip steak and hamburger are both "beef" but offer different eating experiences. The tomato in the grocery store may not be the best taste experience, but if you don't enjoy gardening it offers both the experience of "not gardening" and the experience of "free time." You can up the tomato experience by going to the farm market and with your tomato you buy free time, supporting local agriculture, and the fun of the farm market.. which is sort of a mini-fair every Sunday here.

Cashmere and acrylic will (more or less) keep you warm, but they're different experiences. And any woman who tells you she feels exactly the same wearing acrylic as wearing cashmere hasn't experienced a dry home with carpeting. Cashmere doesn't do the "static cling" thing like acrylic.

But I still haven't got a kid friendly way to explain the "difference."

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Icelandic Sheep and German Angora Rabbits

Like most here I don't think you can ever be totally free of consumerism.. To some extent you will always have to purchase some things (if nothing else you'll have to pay taxes).

So this is just my take on things.

Over the past 15 or so years I've noticed how "dumbed down" things have become.. I first noticed this in the way things are marketed.. The ads are
at about kindergarden level selling cars, tools, etc.. I don't know about you but I'm damned insulted. As an adult I expect to be treated as an equal not as a child. This is one reason I quit watching television (that and its a big time vacuum)..

Secondly, There are so many gadgets that really don't do anything. You buy them and they set on the shelf and take up space.. Don't need or want it.

This type of marketing also trys to sell the "we need a new (insert product here). We need a new car every 2 years.. etc.

And people get so into this that they are willing to sell their life ( time = life) to get them. Never mind they won't have the time to use it.

I could go on and on about this but in the end what it boils down to is this: How much of YOUR life are you willing to sell for junk.

The mentality also extends to "cheaper" mentality.. Oh Wal-mart stuff is so cheap.. REALLY! Lets see.. The quality is for sh*t, so you end up buying 3 (over time) to get the same use you would have got out of one if you'd spend on a good one to start with (not to mention time to go get it).

Then there is the poor people in the sweatshops in china or wherever toiling to make that junk for pennies..

The jobs that would be here are now over seas.. Oh yes and businesses going out of business because they can't compete with this... I don't even have words for the trechery.

Something to think about when thinking how cheap box stores are..


So my answer (at least what I choose to do).. Reduce the spending to as near zero as possible..

If you're in the city, as we are, and trying to get to your homestead start doing things there now with every penny you can spare (instead of spending it on the next eye catcher on tv)...

Its as much about self-sufficiency as possible. Get that solar/gen setup and start doing it now... If you wait till someday or retirement you may just find its out of reach...

if you really want to save you will find ways to do so... Turn that cable tv subscription off, drive whichever vehicle you have that uses the least gas/mile

or GASP.. better yet get a horse and buggy (ok I wouldn't recommend this for in town but you get the idea).

My biggest issue is with quality.. I don't mind spending money on reasonable products IF they are of lasting quality.. I don't expect a pair of shoes to last forever, but If they are asking $100 for them I expect to get a few years (not a few months) out of them.. And that quality just isn't there today.. and any reasonable price.

Ok off my soap box

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