Younger Generation-Wants vs. Needs

[Catobra]

As I watch TV and listen to my daughter (23) and her friends, I am convinced that the younger generation has no clue what the difference is between "want" and "need"......

The girls/women NEED all kinds of various body parts waxed by someone else every 6 weeks or even more frequently. Believe it or not, you can get the same results at home doing it yourself and saving a bunch of money while doing it.

The girls/women NEED to get their hair cut, colored, streaked (whatever) every 6 weeks, To be honest, it is difficult to get the exact same results at home, but please who NEEDS blond/brown/green streaks in their hair anyway? Don't get me started on how many women NEED hair extensions.....

The girls/women NEED to get not just their nails "done" but fake nails put on and their feet/toes done evert two weeks or more often. Again, you can get the same results at home by having just a bit of patience.

The girls/women NEED $100-500-1000 high heels with red/green/purple soles.

The boys/men NEED $50-100 video games even though there is a whole wide world of metal detecting/exploring out there : ) Oh yeah, they NEED the $400 game system to go with the games, sometimes more than one system.

The boys/men NEED $150 sneakers.

Both sexes NEED iPhones or Driods with unlimited texting, internet and phone access at a cost of up to $150/month.

Both sexes NEED a NEW(er) car every two years with fancy rims, car starters, tinted windows and all of the other aftermarket goodies they can get.

Both sexes NEED not just regular cable TV but HBO, Cinemax, etc. at a cost of $250 a month.

Both sexes NEED their Starbucks coffee at $7 A DAY.

Both sexes NEED to relax at the bar on Friday nights at a cost of $150.

Families NEED to give every one of their precious children an iPhone/Droid with all the bells and whistles.

Little girls NEED to get their nails done at the salon.

The word DESERVE can be substituted for any NEED above. They DESERVE all of these extras but ***** and moan because they can't afford rent......

Costs are of course approximate according to where you live.

Add all this together and wow, wonder why women NEED to work outside the home? Wow, why are so many people drowning in debt?

Don't mean to upset any of the younger generation that may be reading this-it is very possible that you are not like this. If so, I applaud your restraint.

It's just that I remember SAVING for my old beater cars, being able to survive without constantly being plugged into every person I know, dealing with not having any money and buying clothes at the thrifts or K-mart, etc.

Is it just me or has the world turned upside down?

 

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[FCCDFEd]

Unfortunately you are right, and another sad fact is that a lot of our younger generations do not have work ethics and don't want any either. Just my two cents worth.

 

[Catobra]

Unfortunately you are right, and another sad fact is that a lot of our younger generations do not have work ethics and don't want any either. Just my two cents worth.

Thank God that is one thing my daughter does have, but I totally agree with you, most of her friends are just drifting, living with mom and dad, but have the cars, shoes, etc.

 

[FarmerChick]

I don't think it is 'that bad out there'

When younger I 'needed alot also'

It is age mostly. You want the world when younger. As you get older your priorities get adjusted and finances change cause you have a darn mortgage, bills up the wazoo, pay tons of taxes and so on. Your money CAN'T be spent like you were spending in your youth.

but parents do need to get kids ready for the real world.

My parents gave me great financial instructions and knowledge. But younger I sure spent the cash in my pocket! Enjoyed doing it also, but wish I had it back now LOL

We buy $149 shoes for hubby for work.
We have cable and all that mess along with hubbys cell phones.
hubby puts aftermarket crappola on his trucks etc.
I do the gal thing with hair, fingernails etc.

everything you listed we do to some degree but we pay our bills, but don't get me wrong, there are unexpected bills that make me moan also.

just got $2100 on hubbys truck. torque inverter and something else. talk about OW. and he is having shoulder surgery in about 4-5 weeks and then another darn big medical hit on top of that. Will it make me cut back on a 'bit' of spending now, sure.


when younger it is a game to find out how to handle money, what you can afford, how you fandangle thru life with your cash in hand.
when you get a bit older you either came out ok like me, or you will be up to your eyeballs in severe debt.
it has always been that way I think.

 

[spartacus53]

I'm with farmerchick on the age thing. Luckily I had parents who were most forth coming with an easy explanation between wanting & needing.

Want doesn't mean you're gonna get

 

[Chadeaux]

Catobra, if I could have liked your post twice I would have.

DEAD ON!!!

I have a friend who is a bill collector and repo man (Smee, used to be here), and you hit the nail on the head!

 

[Catobra]

Don't get me wrong-if someone has the money to do/buy all of these things-hey, go for it! Good for you! And I say that with absolutely no sarcasm or nastiness, if you earned it, you have a right to spend it any way you want. Also, if you need certain $150 boots for your job, that is not what I'm talking about here. Somehow I don't think that any woman on the planet needs $1000 high heels for her job......

My problem is with the "I deserve it" attitude. And I should have said that this is not just a younger generation issue, but more like an American issue (maybe it just irks me more 'cause the kids doing it seem to be a higher percentage and this is America's future). Take for instance the House Hunters/remodel shows, everyone HAS TO HAVE granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. WHY? 'Cause the Jones' do I think. It just seems that too many people are willing to get into debt up to their eyeballs for creature comforts and material possessions (key word-DEBT).

Sure when I was younger I wanted all kinds of stuff but want and actually go out and purchase are two different things. Back then (the '80's) no one I knew got their nails done (and I went to school with rich kids), it was a special occasion thing. If you wanted something expensive, you saved up for it because credit cards weren't handed out like candy. Instead of being used for emergencies or big items like a car (not a BMW, Cadillac, or Infinity-just a car), credit is being used like a game and multiple bankrupcies are the norm (and this is even before the "recession"). Just sad.

 

[Frankn]

As our country elevated in standard of living thru the years, people, mostly the kids, got SPOILED. I am 75 and came in the game before it got blown out of sight. Back then you earned your money to buy things. I got my first car at 15 with money I earned delivering morning evening and Sunday papers. Sure it was an old car, but it got me where I had to go and I learned how to repair it fast enough. Now a days kids are given there cars and the only things they know about it are the goodie extras they added on. My son had trouble with his VW and he figured out it was one of the coils and fixed it himself. A few months later VW came out with a bulletin stating that there were some bad coils. I tried to bring my kids up right.
I am thinking, maybe there is a reason for this bad economy. A message from above with a lesson on life. Frank

 

[Michigan Badger]

Real needs aren't on the want list today because most people just expect them. If the government doesn't provide them mom and dad will (or somebody).

Because of the unique events that shaped our nation (and hard manual labor) we have had an abundance of just about everything. But I fear we're quickly eating up the fat and are well on our way down the other side.

In reading about Neil Armstrong one news outlet mentioned that the next man on the moon will come from China. I thought that was very interesting.

But right now we're still pretty much into good times. About 50% of America is either on a diet or should be. It always cracks me up when one of the major networks does a documentary on hunger in American (or the homeless) and many of the poor persons interviewed are 50 to 100+ pounds overweight.

Let hard times (I mean real hard times) come all these time wasting toys and fads will go out the window. Until then it will be all about my cell, computer, and what's cool.

 

[Frankn]

Yep, there's still overabundance in some areas. Just look what the $20 million per picture crowd is doing with there lives. Look at what the millions per year sports figures are doing. And just think, most of us are paying for it by backing them with our "contributions." Frank

 

[Michigan Badger]

There are millions of people in American who can't possibly spend the interest they're getting on their money.

The point: There is tons of money in this country.

 

[spartacus53]

Here's a real look at want vs need

 

[Red James Cash]

Kids,young adults, now a days want everything handed to them on a silver platter and the sad part is most parents give in to them. Work? Whats that? I shouldnt have to work,everything should be handed to me with no questions asked.

 

[austin]

Uh, I'm pushing 65 and I heard this same stuff when I was a kid. They heard it from their parents who heard it from their parents. Check the 1920's. What's gotten into those kids? The 1950's, that rock and roll is the devil's music. And so on, and so on. I just finished 30 years in a public school and 10 years part-time in a college. Kids today are bigger, healthier, smarter, stronger and as patriotic and dedicated as any of you. They have embraced the new technology and utilize it to their advantage. Their is nothing wrong with them. I could tell you where the fault lies, but most of you wouldn't like it. Young people today question things that they think don't work or won't help them and talented students are still allowed to fall through the cracks because of things like ethnicity, socioeconomic level and adults(their teachers included) who just don't care and who basically don't try and understand the changes that are facing their kids and America in general. What's important to you isn't important to them. Do you realize that all they hear is negativity. They listen to: we're at war and we need to be, you'll never find a job after you graduate, don't go to college because you'll owe too much and never get the loan paid off, nobody can afford a house today, your music just stinks, you'll never amount to anything... (just my opinion so don't shoot the messenger)

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
and don't criticize what you can't understand
your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
your old road is rapidly fading
so get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
for the times, they are a changing.
Bob Dylan, about 1963

 

[packerbacker]

Cannabis alert!!!

 

[packerbacker]

I've got a couple grandsons that should be on a vitamin D program 'cause Lord knows, they spend so much time on video games they don't get any sunshine. I'm talking 19 and 17 years old. I see people on the judge shows suing their friends in their 20's over playstations. They may be bigger, stronger, healthier and all that but they sure take forever to mature. One granson put a stereo in his pickup instead of putting in a back window. Here comes ol' man Winter.

 

[ticm]

Uh, I'm pushing 65 and I heard this same stuff when I was a kid. They heard it from their parents who heard it from their parents. Check the 1920's. What's gotten into those kids? The 1950's, that rock and roll is the devil's music. And so on, and so on. I just finished 30 years in a public school and 10 years part-time in a college. Kids today are bigger, healthier, smarter, stronger and as patriotic and dedicated as any of you. They have embraced the new technology and utilize it to their advantage. Their is nothing wrong with them. I could tell you where the fault lies, but most of you wouldn't like it. Young people today question things that they think don't work or won't help them and talented students are still allowed to fall through the cracks because of things like ethnicity, socioeconomic level and adults(their teachers included) who just don't care and who basically don't try and understand the changes that are facing their kids and America in general. What's important to you isn't important to them. Do you realize that all they hear is negativity. They listen to: we're at war and we need to be, you'll never find a job after you graduate, don't go to college because you'll owe too much and never get the loan paid off, nobody can afford a house today, your music just stinks, you'll never amount to anything... (just my opinion so don't shoot the messenger)

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land
and don't criticize what you can't understand
your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
your old road is rapidly fading
so get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
for the times, they are a changing.
Bob Dylan, about 1963

Damn hippies.

 

[austin]

Might I remind everyone that growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.