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-> Household Management
-> Finances
Fox
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 Thu, Apr 11 2013, 7:25 pm
| amother wrote: | | The lady doth protest too much, methinks. |
Well, at least "the lady" doesn't hide behind anonymity.
| amother wrote: | | You go on and on and on about how the Torah tells people that there are limits on "what we are permitted to do with their disposable income." There, I quoted you again. Its fun! Yet when I paraphrase that very statement -- saying that you argue that the Torah forbids us from spending money on the things that make us happy -- how dare I suggest that you say that! You never said that you can't spend money however you want, if that makes you happy. You simply said that you cannot spend money however you want, perhaps because you know a lot of people who spend money on things that make them unhappy. And if anyone dare say that you said that you cannot spend money however you want, that person is a liar. Because you never said that. You said that a person cannot spend money however she wants, which is completely different. |
I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say. If I understand the run-on sentences, it seems as if you do not distinguish a major difference between "spending money however you want" and "spending money on things that make you happy."
Paraphrasing the first as the second is simply inaccurate.
| amother wrote: | | But, of course, since we're accusing people of being liars, I think I'll accuse you. Because you are. I never claimed that you said that people shouldn't enjoy their material possessions. I said that you said that they were not permitted to spend money on whatever makes them happy. You know, that there are limits on "what we are permitted to do with their disposable income." There I go quoting you again. I'm sorry. Quoting you makes me a liar. Because you don't like owning up to what you say. |
This is ridiculous.
You will find no quotes from me where I said that people could not spend their money in ways that make them happy. I notice, though, that you interchange "happiness" for "doing whatever you want."
I suppose that if you define "happiness" as "doing whatever you want," you would interpret my views as you did. However, anyone defining happiness in that way can avoid the entire problem by spending his/her disposable income on much-needed therapy!
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amother
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 7:36 pm
| Fox wrote: | | amother wrote: | | The lady doth protest too much, methinks. |
Well, at least "the lady" doesn't hide behind anonymity.
| amother wrote: | | You go on and on and on about how the Torah tells people that there are limits on "what we are permitted to do with their disposable income." There, I quoted you again. Its fun! Yet when I paraphrase that very statement -- saying that you argue that the Torah forbids us from spending money on the things that make us happy -- how dare I suggest that you say that! You never said that you can't spend money however you want, if that makes you happy. You simply said that you cannot spend money however you want, perhaps because you know a lot of people who spend money on things that make them unhappy. And if anyone dare say that you said that you cannot spend money however you want, that person is a liar. Because you never said that. You said that a person cannot spend money however she wants, which is completely different. |
I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say. If I understand the run-on sentences, it seems as if you do not distinguish a major difference between "spending money however you want" and "spending money on things that make you happy."
Paraphrasing the first as the second is simply inaccurate.
| amother wrote: | | But, of course, since we're accusing people of being liars, I think I'll accuse you. Because you are. I never claimed that you said that people shouldn't enjoy their material possessions. I said that you said that they were not permitted to spend money on whatever makes them happy. You know, that there are limits on "what we are permitted to do with their disposable income." There I go quoting you again. I'm sorry. Quoting you makes me a liar. Because you don't like owning up to what you say. |
This is ridiculous.
You will find no quotes from me where I said that people could not spend their money in ways that make them happy. I notice, though, that you interchange "happiness" for "doing whatever you want."
I suppose that if you define "happiness" as "doing whatever you want," you would interpret my views as you did. However, anyone defining happiness in that way can avoid the entire problem by spending his/her disposable income on much-needed therapy! |
I get it now. You get to be the arbiter of what makes a person happy. If its something you approve of, fine. That's spending money in ways that make you happy, which is fine by you. But if Fox doesn't approve, that's not "spending money in ways that make you happy." That's spending money "doing whatever you want." And you decree that cannot possibly make you happy, and is forbidden by the Torah.
We're considering a kitchen renovation. Shall I send you the list of appliances and fixtures, so you can determine which ones make me happy (and are therefore OK), and which ones I merely think make me happy, but really are "doing whatever [I] want," and therefore treif.
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tissues
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 8:41 pm
I want to add another dimension to this situation (as if there aren't enough,yet):
The more one puts himself into gashmiyus, the less is left to be focused on ruchniyus. We are in this world to work on the ruchniyus aspect whilst using the gashmiyus as a tool. When we put ourselves into the gashmiyus this much (whether spending excess money on materialistic things or time for cheaper designer shopping, etc), we are denying the purpose of our existence in This World. Not something to be proud of.
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mummiedearest
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 8:46 pm
| tissues wrote: | I want to add another dimension to this situation (as if there aren't enough,yet):
The more one puts himself into gashmiyus, the less is left to be focused on ruchniyus. We are in this world to work on the ruchniyus aspect whilst using the gashmiyus as a tool. When we put ourselves into the gashmiyus this much (whether spending excess money on materialistic things or time for cheaper designer shopping, etc), we are denying the purpose of our existence in This World. Not something to be proud of. |
but gashmiyus can be elevated to ruchniyus when used properly. I would love a commercial kitchen. right now that would just be indulging myself. but if I upgraded to a commercial kitchen in order to run a soup kitchen, I really wouldn't consider it gashmiyus, even if I had it in my own home and used it to cook for my own family as well.
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Cookies n Cream
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 8:49 pm
| mummiedearest wrote: | | tissues wrote: | I want to add another dimension to this situation (as if there aren't enough,yet):
The more one puts himself into gashmiyus, the less is left to be focused on ruchniyus. We are in this world to work on the ruchniyus aspect whilst using the gashmiyus as a tool. When we put ourselves into the gashmiyus this much (whether spending excess money on materialistic things or time for cheaper designer shopping, etc), we are denying the purpose of our existence in This World. Not something to be proud of. |
but gashmiyus can be elevated to ruchniyus when used properly. I would love a commercial kitchen. right now that would just be indulging myself. but if I upgraded to a commercial kitchen in order to run a soup kitchen, I really wouldn't consider it gashmiyus, even if I had it in my own home and used it to cook for my own family as well. |
Exactly.
Like Tissues said you are using the Gashmiyus as a tool for the Ruchniys.
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mummiedearest
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 8:51 pm
| Cookies n Cream wrote: | | mummiedearest wrote: | | tissues wrote: | I want to add another dimension to this situation (as if there aren't enough,yet):
The more one puts himself into gashmiyus, the less is left to be focused on ruchniyus. We are in this world to work on the ruchniyus aspect whilst using the gashmiyus as a tool. When we put ourselves into the gashmiyus this much (whether spending excess money on materialistic things or time for cheaper designer shopping, etc), we are denying the purpose of our existence in This World. Not something to be proud of. |
but gashmiyus can be elevated to ruchniyus when used properly. I would love a commercial kitchen. right now that would just be indulging myself. but if I upgraded to a commercial kitchen in order to run a soup kitchen, I really wouldn't consider it gashmiyus, even if I had it in my own home and used it to cook for my own family as well. |
Exactly.
Like Tissues said you are using the Gashmiyus as a tool for the Ruchniys. |
right. but the way I learned it, by using things that are inherently gashmiyus, you are elevating the thing itself to a status of ruchniyus. I wanted to differentiate between her idea and what I learned.
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tissues
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 9:02 pm
| mummiedearest wrote: | | Cookies n Cream wrote: | | mummiedearest wrote: | | tissues wrote: | I want to add another dimension to this situation (as if there aren't enough,yet):
The more one puts himself into gashmiyus, the less is left to be focused on ruchniyus. We are in this world to work on the ruchniyus aspect whilst using the gashmiyus as a tool. When we put ourselves into the gashmiyus this much (whether spending excess money on materialistic things or time for cheaper designer shopping, etc), we are denying the purpose of our existence in This World. Not something to be proud of. |
but gashmiyus can be elevated to ruchniyus when used properly. I would love a commercial kitchen. right now that would just be indulging myself. but if I upgraded to a commercial kitchen in order to run a soup kitchen, I really wouldn't consider it gashmiyus, even if I had it in my own home and used it to cook for my own family as well. |
Exactly.
Like Tissues said you are using the Gashmiyus as a tool for the Ruchniys. |
right. but the way I learned it, by using things that are inherently gashmiyus, you are elevating the thing itself to a status of ruchniyus. I wanted to differentiate between her idea and what I learned. |
I don't see how it's different from what I'm saying. If you're utilizing the gashmiyus for your ruchniyus, well, that's no longer gashmiyus. Your kitchen becomes a chayfetz shel mitzva which is holy. That's the reason we were given gashmiyus: To elevate it for use for our ruchniyus and NOT to lower ourselves into the mud of materialism. (I'm not endorsing complete withdrawal from all physical. Rather, an attitude of using just what one needs. Not: It's my money, I can do with it what I want...)
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mummiedearest
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 9:07 pm
| tissues wrote: | | mummiedearest wrote: | | Cookies n Cream wrote: | | mummiedearest wrote: | | tissues wrote: | I want to add another dimension to this situation (as if there aren't enough,yet):
The more one puts himself into gashmiyus, the less is left to be focused on ruchniyus. We are in this world to work on the ruchniyus aspect whilst using the gashmiyus as a tool. When we put ourselves into the gashmiyus this much (whether spending excess money on materialistic things or time for cheaper designer shopping, etc), we are denying the purpose of our existence in This World. Not something to be proud of. |
but gashmiyus can be elevated to ruchniyus when used properly. I would love a commercial kitchen. right now that would just be indulging myself. but if I upgraded to a commercial kitchen in order to run a soup kitchen, I really wouldn't consider it gashmiyus, even if I had it in my own home and used it to cook for my own family as well. |
Exactly.
Like Tissues said you are using the Gashmiyus as a tool for the Ruchniys. |
right. but the way I learned it, by using things that are inherently gashmiyus, you are elevating the thing itself to a status of ruchniyus. I wanted to differentiate between her idea and what I learned. |
I don't see how it's different from what I'm saying. If you're utilizing the gashmiyus for your ruchniyus, well, that's no longer gashmiyus. Your kitchen becomes a chayfetz shel mitzva which is holy. That's the reason we were given gashmiyus: To elevate it for use for our ruchniyus and NOT to lower ourselves into the mud of materialism. (I'm not endorsing complete withdrawal from all physical. Rather, an attitude of using just what one needs. Not: It's my money, I can do with it what I want...) |
got it. from your first post, I thought you meant that the gashmiyus stays "just tools."
I do think one can buy a few luxuries if they can afford it, but shouldn't go overboard. of course, where to draw the line is the question...
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Fox
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 9:15 pm
| amother wrote: | I get it now. You get to be the arbiter of what makes a person happy. If its something you approve of, fine. That's spending money in ways that make you happy, which is fine by you. But if Fox doesn't approve, that's not "spending money in ways that make you happy." That's spending money "doing whatever you want." And you decree that cannot possibly make you happy, and is forbidden by the Torah.
We're considering a kitchen renovation. Shall I send you the list of appliances and fixtures, so you can determine which ones make me happy (and are therefore OK), and which ones I merely think make me happy, but really are "doing whatever want," and therefore treif. |
Each new post wanders further and further from anything I've ever said. Now you're simply resorting to gratuitous insults rather than responding thoughtfully to anything I've said. You seem to believe that "doing things that make one happy" is synonymous with "doing whatever one wants." I vehemently disagree, and I see that we're not going to reach accommodation on this topic.
I suggest you read my response on another thread to the OP who was contemplating a kitchen renovation. Also read Dolly Welsh's response in the same thread -- she said it much better than I did.
With that, I'll end my participation on this thread. Clearly, arguing with an anonymous poster who harbors enormous animosity while avoiding reasoned responses to any of my points is a poor exercise for both of us.
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pelle
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Thu, Apr 11 2013, 10:12 pm
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I just have to say it's amazaing how one women's words lashing out at another (meaning the women who lashed out at the op) can have such far reaching ramifications, (meaning this heated discussion). In the end, when all is said and done, ONLY the Master of the world knows if somone is spending or using their money Lshem Shimayim. May we all have the clarity for this and not judge others.
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amother
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 1:01 am
I just did a kitchen rennovation, and I do not run a soup kitchen. I do run a home though. B"H, we can afford it, and now the kitchen has become the center of my home. The kids do homework and hangout there, they help me more, and I really am enjoying it. I thank Hashem I was able to do this, especially since I grew up with a kitchen smaller than some peoples bathrooms.
Sometimes messages pop into my head to try to make me feel guilty for having such a large kitchen. I replace those thoughts with gratitude to Hashem, and to my husband. (Anon so noone becomes jealous of my new kitchen.)
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tissues
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 10:19 am
| amother wrote: | I just did a kitchen rennovation, and I do not run a soup kitchen. I do run a home though. B"H, we can afford it, and now the kitchen has become the center of my home. The kids do homework and hangout there, they help me more, and I really am enjoying it. I thank Hashem I was able to do this, especially since I grew up with a kitchen smaller than some peoples bathrooms.
Sometimes messages pop into my head to try to make me feel guilty for having such a large kitchen. I replace those thoughts with gratitude to Hashem, and to my husband. (Anon so noone becomes jealous of my new kitchen.) |
Using materialism to enhance our avodas Hashem is a tough balance. How much is being used for ruchniyus? How much is just rationalized as being used for ruchniyus? And how much is downright gashmiyus (with no possible rationalization)? That's for each person to evaluate individually. Enjoy your kitchen! Use it l'avodas Haboray gezunterheit!
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amother
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 10:33 am
| Fox wrote: | | amother wrote: | I get it now. You get to be the arbiter of what makes a person happy. If its something you approve of, fine. That's spending money in ways that make you happy, which is fine by you. But if Fox doesn't approve, that's not "spending money in ways that make you happy." That's spending money "doing whatever you want." And you decree that cannot possibly make you happy, and is forbidden by the Torah.
We're considering a kitchen renovation. Shall I send you the list of appliances and fixtures, so you can determine which ones make me happy (and are therefore OK), and which ones I merely think make me happy, but really are "doing whatever want," and therefore treif. |
Each new post wanders further and further from anything I've ever said. Now you're simply resorting to gratuitous insults rather than responding thoughtfully to anything I've said. You seem to believe that "doing things that make one happy" is synonymous with "doing whatever one wants." I vehemently disagree, and I see that we're not going to reach accommodation on this topic.
I suggest you read my response on another thread to the OP who was contemplating a kitchen renovation. Also read Dolly Welsh's response in the same thread -- she said it much better than I did.
With that, I'll end my participation on this thread. Clearly, arguing with an anonymous poster who harbors enormous animosity while avoiding reasoned responses to any of my points is a poor exercise for both of us. |
I apologize if you think that I have "gratuitiously insulted" you, that I have "enormous animosity" towards you, of that I have "avoid[ed] reasoned responses." I do not believe that I have done so. To the contrary, I think that you have felt free to engage in ad hominem attacks against me, I explained in my first post why I am anonymous. It is a legitimate reason. Your personal attacks on me hurt very much.
That said, I fail to see the fallacy in my reasoning. You do not believe that people should be entitled to spend money as they wish. Indeed, you state that it is stam halacha that even people who have the funds, and who give sufficiently to tzedaka, still may not spend that money as they wish. I've quoted you on that. I don't think you deny saying it.
Please explain, cogently, without engaging in personal attacks or relying upon a claim that you "didn't' say it," when clearly I believe you did, of how that differs from "people cannot spend money in a way that makes them happy." Because, obviously, if there are ways of spending money that are, as you say, "treif," if there are, as you say, limits on how people may spend their own funds, then they cannot, by definition, spend their money in whatever way makes them happy.
Again, and for the sake of clarity, if people can spend their money on whatever makes them happy, how can any expenditure be "treif"? And if some expenditures are "treif," who can it be that a person can spend her money on whatever makes her happy?
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yummymummy
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 10:52 am
| amother wrote: | | Fox wrote: | | amother wrote: | I get it now. You get to be the arbiter of what makes a person happy. If its something you approve of, fine. That's spending money in ways that make you happy, which is fine by you. But if Fox doesn't approve, that's not "spending money in ways that make you happy." That's spending money "doing whatever you want." And you decree that cannot possibly make you happy, and is forbidden by the Torah.
We're considering a kitchen renovation. Shall I send you the list of appliances and fixtures, so you can determine which ones make me happy (and are therefore OK), and which ones I merely think make me happy, but really are "doing whatever want," and therefore treif. |
Each new post wanders further and further from anything I've ever said. Now you're simply resorting to gratuitous insults rather than responding thoughtfully to anything I've said. You seem to believe that "doing things that make one happy" is synonymous with "doing whatever one wants." I vehemently disagree, and I see that we're not going to reach accommodation on this topic.
I suggest you read my response on another thread to the OP who was contemplating a kitchen renovation. Also read Dolly Welsh's response in the same thread -- she said it much better than I did.
With that, I'll end my participation on this thread. Clearly, arguing with an anonymous poster who harbors enormous animosity while avoiding reasoned responses to any of my points is a poor exercise for both of us. |
I apologize if you think that I have "gratuitiously insulted" you, that I have "enormous animosity" towards you, of that I have "avoid[ed] reasoned responses." I do not believe that I have done so. To the contrary, I think that you have felt free to engage in ad hominem attacks against me, I explained in my first post why I am anonymous. It is a legitimate reason. Your personal attacks on me hurt very much.
That said, I fail to see the fallacy in my reasoning. You do not believe that people should be entitled to spend money as they wish. Indeed, you state that it is stam halacha that even people who have the funds, and who give sufficiently to tzedaka, still may not spend that money as they wish. I've quoted you on that. I don't think you deny saying it.
Please explain, cogently, without engaging in personal attacks or relying upon a claim that you "didn't' say it," when clearly I believe you did, of how that differs from "people cannot spend money in a way that makes them happy." Because, obviously, if there are ways of spending money that are, as you say, "treif," if there are, as you say, limits on how people may spend their own funds, then they cannot, by definition, spend their money in whatever way makes them happy.
Again, and for the sake of clarity, if people can spend their money on whatever makes them happy, how can any expenditure be "treif"? And if some expenditures are "treif," who can it be that a person can spend her money on whatever makes her happy? |
I think Fox was trying to say that you can spend money on things that make you happy but not whatever makes you happy. So if you get a tasteful piece of jewelry for your anniversary that would be OK but walking around with Elizabeth Taylor's gems would be showing off and wrong. Of course, what defines tasteful or as Fox put it "seemly" depends on your community standards and I think she just wants people to be sensitive to others and how they will be effected by your spending.
I'm not sure why this is so controversial, we do it in many areas of our lives (I.e., taking into consideration how others will feel before we do or say something) and I don't see why spending money should be different. Just like you wouldn't brag about how rich you are with words, don't brag about it with your wallet.
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amother
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 11:41 am
| yummymummy wrote: | | amother wrote: |
I apologize if you think that I have "gratuitiously insulted" you, that I have "enormous animosity" towards you, of that I have "avoid[ed] reasoned responses." I do not believe that I have done so. To the contrary, I think that you have felt free to engage in ad hominem attacks against me, I explained in my first post why I am anonymous. It is a legitimate reason. Your personal attacks on me hurt very much.
That said, I fail to see the fallacy in my reasoning. You do not believe that people should be entitled to spend money as they wish. Indeed, you state that it is stam halacha that even people who have the funds, and who give sufficiently to tzedaka, still may not spend that money as they wish. I've quoted you on that. I don't think you deny saying it.
Please explain, cogently, without engaging in personal attacks or relying upon a claim that you "didn't' say it," when clearly I believe you did, of how that differs from "people cannot spend money in a way that makes them happy." Because, obviously, if there are ways of spending money that are, as you say, "treif," if there are, as you say, limits on how people may spend their own funds, then they cannot, by definition, spend their money in whatever way makes them happy.
Again, and for the sake of clarity, if people can spend their money on whatever makes them happy, how can any expenditure be "treif"? And if some expenditures are "treif," who can it be that a person can spend her money on whatever makes her happy? |
I think Fox was trying to say that you can spend money on things that make you happy but not whatever makes you happy. So if you get a tasteful piece of jewelry for your anniversary that would be OK but walking around with Elizabeth Taylor's gems would be showing off and wrong. Of course, what defines tasteful or as Fox put it "seemly" depends on your community standards and I think she just wants people to be sensitive to others and how they will be effected by your spending.
I'm not sure why this is so controversial, we do it in many areas of our lives (I.e., taking into consideration how others will feel before we do or say something) and I don't see why spending money should be different. Just like you wouldn't brag about how rich you are with words, don't brag about it with your wallet. |
Thank you for the explanation. It strikes me, however, much like Henry Ford's infamous statement, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." You can purchase whatever makes you happy, so long as it isn't something that you shouldn't purchase.
As I stated in the very post for which I was attacked, I do think that OP may well have had a skewed view of her own assets and of the world, and that she failed to recognize the level of conspicuous consumption in which she was engaging. That may have resulted in the concededly very rude comments on the other woman.
But what if those things, however, much at the level of conspicuous consumption, truly made her happy? What if someone truly understands and appreciates the difference between a sealed and a non-sealed burner, really cooks a lot, and selects the $5500 Blue Star over the $1200 GE oven. Maybe she buys one for milk and one for meat. And it truly does make her happy in a way that a cheaper oven would not. Perhaps she even took into account the thoughts of others, but concluded that her own ease of cooking, and her own dissatisfaction with more typical ovens, outweighed that. Why does anyone else have the right to judge that, much less to decree that such a purchase might be "treif"?
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Cookies n Cream
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 12:20 pm
I have no problem if she chooses the $5500 burner over the $1200 burner.
What bothers me is when she justifies it by saying it's not at all an expensive price to pay, and that this is actually the standard of burners.
Like other posters said(maybe in a different thread), everybody has their specific things that they like to spend money on, but when you're getting luxuries, or above standard items, vacations etc...realize that that is exactly what they are-(above the standard)
It's an attitude.
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yummymummy
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 12:25 pm
| amother wrote: |
Thank you for the explanation. It strikes me, however, much like Henry Ford's infamous statement, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." You can purchase whatever makes you happy, so long as it isn't something that you shouldn't purchase.
As I stated in the very post for which I was attacked, I do think that OP may well have had a skewed view of her own assets and of the world, and that she failed to recognize the level of conspicuous consumption in which she was engaging. That may have resulted in the concededly very rude comments on the other woman.
But what if those things, however, much at the level of conspicuous consumption, truly made her happy? What if someone truly understands and appreciates the difference between a sealed and a non-sealed burner, really cooks a lot, and selects the $5500 Blue Star over the $1200 GE oven. Maybe she buys one for milk and one for meat. And it truly does make her happy in a way that a cheaper oven would not. Perhaps she even took into account the thoughts of others, but concluded that her own ease of cooking, and her own dissatisfaction with more typical ovens, outweighed that. Why does anyone else have the right to judge that, much less to decree that such a purchase might be "treif"? |
I don't see a problem with purchasing the more expensive oven if after weighing the pros and cons this woman determines that this oven is the best fit for her kitchen. I do see a problem with purchasing the oven if she's doing it to keep up with the Goldberg's or to show off to Yenty Dibri. I also have a problem if this women tells anyone and everyone who will listen (and some who won't) what a pleasure her new oven is to cook with and insists on giving a guided tour of her kitchen to all who set foot in her house.
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bigsis144
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 1:00 pm
| yummymummy wrote: |
I think Fox was trying to say that you can spend money on things that make you happy but not whatever makes you happy. So if you get a tasteful piece of jewelry for your anniversary that would be OK but walking around with Elizabeth Taylor's gems would be showing off and wrong. Of course, what defines tasteful or as Fox put it "seemly" depends on your community standards and I think she just wants people to be sensitive to others and how they will be effected by your spending.
I'm not sure why this is so controversial, we do it in many areas of our lives (I.e., taking into consideration how others will feel before we do or say something) and I don't see why spending money should be different. Just like you wouldn't brag about how rich you are with words, don't brag about it with your wallet. |
I don't remember where I heard this phrase, but it stuck with me for its succinct wisdom: "Everything you need, and some of what you want."
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amother
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 1:19 pm
New to this discussion.
My husband probably makes more than most people on this board (over 500k) per year BH and we dress nice- Gap, Zara's- but I wouldn't be caught dead in Louie Vitton (not even sure if I spelled it right!!).
I do however love my luxury stroller and full time help. I don't think our neighbors have a clue how well we do, but I have been given a hard time for my stroller. Here is my thought: a $2K stroller for us is a joke. I wanted the best, most functional, easiest to push, stroller on the market and got it.
I think I was given a hard time because others assume we are more in the 200K range and then I would be purchasing just to show off. I just smile and say we saved up for it.
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dancingqueen
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Fri, Apr 12 2013, 5:20 pm
I kind of am wary of the idea of not buying/spending money on things that you can afford, but might make others jealous. Definitely don't be a show off or flaunt your wealth in people's faces, but I don't agree with not going on vacation or buying a stroller because others will be jealous.
Should people not have too many kids, because others who are less fertile will be jealous? To me, its the same thing. People have to be secure within themselves. Having different people at different financial levels is kind of what capitalism is all about. We don't all have to be the "same."
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