ladelfina
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2005
- Messages
- 2,713
Mr.Galt and others are right about the dubious nature of "new and amazing stuff". Almost all of it is designed not to improve your direct comfort, but to show off your buying prowess.
Back at MIT in the late 70s the toy to have was a CD player ($1000 in 1970s dollars, too). Now you can get one for what? $20, $30, $50?
I would laugh up my sleeve at the Joneses running out to Best Buy to buy a 50" HDTV for a "low monthly payment". I merely chuckle at those who'd pay cash for it. At a certain point in your life, you just do not need these things. I'm only in my forties and already I sound like an old fart.
As far as health care is concerned, I remember someone telling me several years back about an Economist article that said all the increased spending and new high-tech developments in health care in the 20th c. accounted for a miniscule percentage in improved health and longevity, and that better nutrition and sanitation (cheap, low-tech) were responsible for the lion's share.
My luxuries?
A fur coat (hand-me-down from my mom). Great in winter, and in Italy no one throws paint at you for wearing fur.
A down comforter.
Expensive pots & pans for slow-cooking those beans & lentils (cook more evenly and they're less likely to burn).
A smallish, oldish Honda CRV for those muddy back roads and to haul firewood and the dog.
A 'detached' house with a yard (in Italy most everyone lives in apartments).
Satellite TV and DSL to keep up with American culture, for better or for worse.
When someone shows me their latest cell-phone, or Blackberry, or PDA, or PlayStation I just feel sad for them. There should be technology clinics like they have methadone clinics, to wean people off of this stuff.
And talk about being a Luddite.. I was just in CT visiting my sister who just bought a house with a fridge that has (gasp!) an in-the-door ice dispenser! Man, do I love that thing! I know they're extremely common and have been around for years, but we just never had one, nor did I ever know anyone before who had one (small NE kitchens prob. to blame rather than lack of funds).
But still I don't need it.
I could get one here for 1800 EUROS if I wanted it
You may not have control over inflation, but you do have control over your own personal inflationary impluses.
Back at MIT in the late 70s the toy to have was a CD player ($1000 in 1970s dollars, too). Now you can get one for what? $20, $30, $50?
I would laugh up my sleeve at the Joneses running out to Best Buy to buy a 50" HDTV for a "low monthly payment". I merely chuckle at those who'd pay cash for it. At a certain point in your life, you just do not need these things. I'm only in my forties and already I sound like an old fart.
As far as health care is concerned, I remember someone telling me several years back about an Economist article that said all the increased spending and new high-tech developments in health care in the 20th c. accounted for a miniscule percentage in improved health and longevity, and that better nutrition and sanitation (cheap, low-tech) were responsible for the lion's share.
My luxuries?
A fur coat (hand-me-down from my mom). Great in winter, and in Italy no one throws paint at you for wearing fur.
A down comforter.
Expensive pots & pans for slow-cooking those beans & lentils (cook more evenly and they're less likely to burn).
A smallish, oldish Honda CRV for those muddy back roads and to haul firewood and the dog.
A 'detached' house with a yard (in Italy most everyone lives in apartments).
Satellite TV and DSL to keep up with American culture, for better or for worse.
When someone shows me their latest cell-phone, or Blackberry, or PDA, or PlayStation I just feel sad for them. There should be technology clinics like they have methadone clinics, to wean people off of this stuff.
And talk about being a Luddite.. I was just in CT visiting my sister who just bought a house with a fridge that has (gasp!) an in-the-door ice dispenser! Man, do I love that thing! I know they're extremely common and have been around for years, but we just never had one, nor did I ever know anyone before who had one (small NE kitchens prob. to blame rather than lack of funds).
But still I don't need it.
I could get one here for 1800 EUROS if I wanted it
You may not have control over inflation, but you do have control over your own personal inflationary impluses.