My rural midwestern heritage made me believe that I could go hungry, or the next Great Depression was around the corner. I know better now, but that tiny voice is still there. Fear is an excellent savings motivator, but it keeps you from having a ton of useless junk too. ...AND keeps me reading consumerist.com.

"We live in a small town, and everybody looks at your clothes and what you drive and where you have your hair done," said Ms. Gamble, who earns about $2,600 a month as a grievance counselor at a local prison.

I think that line says it all in a nutshell. People buying shit they don't need just to keep up appearances with the Joneses

@hornrimsylvia: Most of my family has roots in the rural midwest as well. I always thought it was the weather that was conducive to money saving things like jarring jams and knitting wool sweaters.

You think eBay is popular now? Wait until the credit crunch really hits and all of the sudden people will be liquidating all of their worthless junk they both on credit.

The apt I currently rent apparently was rented by someone who owes huge amounts to many, because I've come home to summons and debt collection notices with numbers in the tens of thousands.

One particularly fun night was when Dog the Bounty Hunter's twin showed up (I swear they could have been related) with an entire police entourage. They knocked at like 10pm, I checked the peep hole and saw like 10 dudes at the end of my hallway and someone holding a badge close to the peep hole.

Skipping the 'hilarious in hindsight' conversation we had, it was quite the experience, and actually took awhile for me to convince them I was who I said I was, and had no knowledge or relation to the previous tenant.

Long story short, if it takes you 20k in debt to realize "if we can't afford it, we don't buy it" than all I can say is….better late than never?

My parents grew up in the depression so they had lots of penny pinching ways that followed them even when they were upper middle class. I think some of that stuck on my.

But I live in the semi-rural midwest and there are so many people around me that were or still are spending like drunken sailors. I came to terms with it years ago when I realized they were not better off then me they were racking up piles of debt that I wasn't.

What really makes me mad is when these people would criticize me or try to drag me into their game of the joneses. I got tired fast of people giving me crap for not having a new car every two years or wasting way too much money on professional manicures and that kind of thing.

Idiots running themselves into massive debit to try to impress everyone else is not unique to big cities or the coasts. I could drive down my street and point to who I know is probably heavily in debt. I know where they both work and about what they make vs. all the crap they have.

who cares. democrats will bail me out. I'll be on welfare, food stamps. free healthcare. I am an idiot for trying to make a honest living.

Screw it, do whatever you want too. The person across from the street from you will pay for it.

Sorry, romney just got out, im upset.

The Fran Barbaro story was the most egregious. $25,000 per year for after-school studies for the kids? Come on.

I often wonder if the people in the small towns really care about what other people have/are wearing as much as others perceive them to care. I'm in a fairly small town and I can't say I've ever thought beyond "that looks nice on him/her".

*sigh* I was talking to my husband about this yesterday when we were on our way to the grocery store. We grew up in a relatively poor area, and now we've moved to a very rich part of the country.

And we're constantly butting heads with people and ending up in culture shock. They're in debt up to their eyeballs, living on credit cards, and buying new houses. They just don't understand when I say things like, "That would be fun to have, but I don't really need it."

It really is depressing to see how widespread this attitude is. Not to mention that most of these people don't do anything for themselves. There are specialty services for everything. I'm amazed any of them know how to change their furnace filters.

@fizzyg: "I often wonder if the people in the small towns really care about what other people have/are wearing as much as others perceive them to care. I'm in a fairly small town and I can't say I've ever thought beyond "that looks nice on him/her"."

I was confused by that comment as well. I'm from a small town and while some of the kids had their "I have to have the latest fad" tendencies, for the most part nobody really gave a crap where you got your hair done, or what you drove. Of course, in my town the rich people are the ones with new Chevy trucks instead of used ones. Not a rich place.

@meiran: Replace "small towns" with "middle-class suburbs" and it makes a lot more sense. This attitude was pervasive in the NJ suburb where I grew up, tacit but widely felt. For some reason I will never understand folks in a particular income bracket felt like they had to appear richer than they were.

They should make bankruptcy due to careless overspending like this have some sort of criminal charge assigned to it. If someone cannot hold a job, and in turn cannot pay rent or utilities, that is one story. But having steady income and blowing it on useless stuff, then complaining that you can't be held responsible for the debt should have more consequences than a horrible credit record. While I wouldn't be against jail time as an extra deterrent, I understand it would be a bit much, but they would essentially be stealing from society, and stealing is a crime.

@hornrimsylvia: i have the same thing. i call it "spend-a-phobia". it's a blessing and a curse.

@Bladefist:

I don't know about you guys, but I'm voting for Obama....

"Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., says the real victims of the subprime mortgage crisis are the borrowers who followed the rules and whose only crime was taking out mortgages that lenders told them they could afford."

Screw personal responsibility!!!

Common sense is no longer actually common. We need a new term for it.

@sixseeds: Indeed. Leesburg is just a suburb (exurb?) of Washington D.C., one of the more hilariously status-conscious towns.

I can't tell you the number of weird comments I get for cruising around in my ancient car and living in a small apartment while tons of barely solvent people and even some illegal immigrants are driving Mercedes and buying (ok, losing) McMansions to keep up with the Joneses. Insane!

But I did grow up in a rural town where no one was wealthy and where people were not status-conscious so much as the were conscious of other things (not having enough money for heating oil, food, gas, etc). Can't hurt everyone tighten their belts a little.

@ekthesy: In Boston, maybe also for learning disabilities, I'd put that at average. Plus she mentioned she was on her own after divorce. Either she'll take a cut in pay to work part time, or hire an afterschool sitter.

I was a Nanny/Tutor on the east coast for 3 hours after school on week days I charged 13/hour, so about 200/week. That's about 7000 for the school year. Full time coverage for the summer, for two kids could easily be 10-15K.

My neighbor does not have health insurance and drives a leased Acura.

After experiencing a couple (long) periods of unemployment, I've come to understand how quickly money comes and goes. Yeah, daily expenses and costs of living do add up.

But some people don't realize that going to Starbucks 4 times a day is NOT a valid daily expense. Buying a new ipod every year is not a valid expense.

I live in a small town that boasts an extremely wealthy population for half the year, and has a fairly well-off percentage of the population year-round. I can definitely see people who want to keep up with the Joneses. Usually it's the upper-middle class, those of us who can afford some of the fancy things the people in mansions have, but really can't afford to duplicate their lifestyles.

I don't subscribe to that mentality myself, and my friends who I'm close enough with to know about their finances are all similarly level-headed. But I bet there are plenty of people shopping in the chi-chi boutiques downtown who shouldn't be.

    Of those examples above, only the government-employed couple makes less than I do. I have NO sympathy! Ifn' you got edmucated 'nuff t' make six figures, you oughtta knowed better!

    I was lucky that my parents taught me to use credit cards just like I'd use cash. If you don't have it, DON'T spend it!

Soon there is going to be a lot of used cars, boats, homes, etc going for sale real cheap.

I went to look at a used car the other day. The guy selling the car also had a two high end cars, three ATVs, huge plasma TV, arcade pinball machines, etc.

I asked what he did for work. He runs a daycare business out of his home. He also proudly told me how the apraised value of his house keeps going up, so keeps refinancing the equity out of the house to buy stuff.

People like this just make me want to gnash my teeth. YAARGH!

I know a fairly young couple who are $680,000 in debt, much of it in unsecured debt. Yes, SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS! They will never repay this amount even if the never spent another dime, and paid all of their money into it for the rest of their lives. They do live well- for the moment. Must be hard trying to get to sleep though.

I say we should persuade all of the brokerage houses and retirement planners to give away a physical token of our financial health. Maybe a bracelet or something. The more money in your 401K or Roth, the more ornate and prominent it would be. Maybe we could start a new healthier trend.

@bustit22: lol. If you can't get online and use a simple calculator to calculate how much house you can afford, maybe you dont deserve to have a home. Unfortunately you just lose your home and I get to pay for your mistakes, until I'm taxed so much I lose my home, and then someone else covers me. :)

Subprime fiasco aside, it confounds me that that so many people buy so much crap they can't afford. Cars, which the pundits now say could be the source of the next loan crisis, are a perfect example. I lust after a new car, but the antidote to that is thinking about having no car payments. I am so thankful that my wife and I keep our 10 year old Toyota so well maintained (we live in a major city and have had just one car for over six years).

Seriously -- we saturate our spawn with the "buy, buy, buy" message practically at the fetal stage, it's no wonder. SC is now reporting to be resorting to corporate advertising INSIDE of school buses. What's next, in utero ads?

Each day, we march closer and closer to the society pictured in "Idiocracy".

I grew up in Southern California and I never noticed people with extravagant lifestyles, although I did live in the suburbs, or maybe I didn't really care. But what I find interesting is how different my sister and I are. We were talking last year about how my life in Chicago is going (I had just moved a year ago) and she asked me if I was going to buy a new car and rent a bigger place. I told her that my car was just fine and I'd drive it till it dies and I don't need a big place since it's only me besides I want to save my money. She looked at me and said "But you can afford it" and I told her "Yeah I can, but I don't see the practicality in it." I find it interesting that we grew up together and she finds it totally okay to use credit cards to go on vacations while I use mine to maximize rewards by paying them off and arbitrage.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is it doesn't really matter what's going around you with people trying to keep up with the Joneses but how you perceive yourself and wether you can see through what the marketers are trying to blind you with. That you're nobody without the LV bag, driving the leased Benz, living in the McMansion and eyeball deep in debt.

@xQuizx: wether - whether

My puny student loan (just under $25,000) makes me sweat and lose my appetite. I can't imagine $200,000 in debt. @loueloui: $680,000 isn't even a comprehensible number. Just try to picture 680,000 of something. I feel horribly for those people, but can't imagine how a young couple, or any couple really, would find $680,000 worth of stuff to buy. That's the Midwesterner in me I guess.

To everyone who mentioned the weird looks and comments they get, try not having cable! It's like the 21st century's leprosy. And I might as well be dead to most people because I'm not concerned about updating my TV either.

Get this - my wife *gasp* clips coupons! You want to talk about being automatically ostracized?

I can see where it's a struggle, but it does become easier if you start thinking about how much you actually "need" something vs "want" something. I drive an 11 year old car and currently rent a small apartment because that is all I need on my own. Sure I had some initial expenses from setting up a new place to live, but now that it's behind me, I can concentrate on paying down my debt.

@ekthesy: "Needed" $25k in after-school programs? Lady, send your kids to the YMCA or the county soccer/baseball/football program. Our biggest problem in this country when it comes to spending is people have this notion that they've got to surround themselves with the most expensive items/services they can find to satisfy basic necessities.

I NEED a car to get to work. I WANT a BMW, but my Mazda or my wife's paid off Jeep gets us there just as well and for far less money.

I NEED a house over my head. I want one on 4-5 acres with a 50x50' detached garage for my workshop and 3000 sq/ft, but my 1600 sq/ft on .75 acres in a good neighborhood gets the job done.

I could go on and on, but I think everyone gets the picture.

@missdona: People don't want to have to break down and drive a $3000 car to pay $100 a month for health insurance. That's why I have absolutely no pity for most of the people who claim they can't afford it. They just choose not to buy it because they don't want to give up a luxury or something else that doesn't fit into the realm of necessity to be responsible for their own health care. The money to buy it is there, they just don't want to spend it.

@Jim: Ha no cable! That one is good I currently don't have cable and have been cable free for almost a year now. When people find that out they give me this concerned look like..."are you dying?" I calmly tell them that when you don't have it you don't really need it. It gives me time to get out of the house and explore the world. What I find interesting is people say that they don't watch much tv at all and don't know why they are paying for it. But they can't get themselves to cancel it.

@barty:

Yeah. She could have sold some of her "original art" she chose to festoon her home with, rather than run up debt for after school programs.

You know what my after school program was? Running around in my yard and trying to sneak into the newspaper plant next door to yell "STOP THE PRESSES!" (Thanks Dad.)

And geez--paying $100 a month for health insurance is on the very cheap end of things. Where do I sign up for that??

Yeaaaah...these stories are ridiculous. How can people amass so much debt through pure irresponsibility and stupidity? Maybe I overestimate people's intelligence. I'm going to have a nice apartment, with internet and cable and no debt, because I can say 'no' to buying lots of original art.

This is what gets me the most:

"These were simple day-to-day expenses," she said. "The money was always there."

$25,000 in after-school classes is NOT a day-to-day expense! an after-school library program might not be free, but it sure the heck won't equal $25,000 a year!

I heart coupons. I only clip the ones for products I actually buy, and I keep them with me at all times. If for some reason, I've got a craving for something, I buy the smallest version of it possible, knowing that my craving might be gone within a day or two, and I don't want a ton of leftover food I won't want to eat.

Hey Judgy McJudge Judges!
Is it really new news that "Americans buy things they can't afford?"
Oh, but I have a "Midwestern sensibility" or "Depression era mentality" that does me right!
Well fuck that and your preachy ways. While I am totally against much in the way of a subprime bailout, I'd appreciate you not fucking telling me that an ipod is a valid expense or not.
Look, I make $150k/year and spend quite a bit, sometimes even more than I bring home, but save 10% in my 401k. While I would LOVE it if those making less than me didn't overspend and then I will fucking have to bail them out, none of you can deny that this is always easy to say when you have more money and can afford shit. I LOOOOOOVE my flat screen. I LOOOOOVE my nice car. I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE my family even more (hence the extra Os) and use our money to spend time together and enjoy those moments.
All I'm saying is, we seem to talk about 2 main things on Consumerist:
1) How greedy and manipulative all the corporations are and how they hook us in and it just isn't fair.
2) The idiots who live in our country that spend more than they have and fall for the corporations.
In other words... everyone is dumb but us. Maybe true, but it is a freaking condescending attitude.

Stories like this oddly make me feel good about myself.

@barty:

If I mail you a medical statement - can you sign me up for this $100 a mo medical insurance you speak of?

@MickeyMoo: Depends where you are, and your age. I got it for $100 a month with BCBS at the age of $25, but the county I was in was one of the cheaper in the state, the price varied county to county. It had a very high deductible though, mostly had it in case I got hit by a car or something.

@UpsetPanda: I really wish we had the kind of community infrastructure, and heck, even the culture to have every kid signed up in an affordable library or soccer program. But if the parent is working, how is the kid going to get to soccer? How are they going to get to the library? I know these things can be worked out in some cases, but at the end of the day, sometimes its just easier to hire a sitter.

@zippyzop: Srsly. I love consumerist because of all the tips and ideas, but sometimes people can be downright condescending of how other people live. Racist, even, in some cases (see the spinning rims comments in the tax rebate posts). It isn't our place to tell people what kind of culture they should have. If they want to be idiots (and I agree with the Idiocracy comments), then fine. Survival of the fittest, I say!

@kimsama: I absolutely agree with you. The attitude was one of the reasons I moved to Chicago. I remain proud of my family's little house and modest but reliable cars.

@zippyzop: What's wrong with condescending a little if we are right? Yeah, that makes me sound like a jerk, but I reserve the right to be annoyed at those greedy corporations and stupid consumers who are dragging my financially responsible ass down into a recession. I make a lot less than $100k a year but I'll be paying for their attitude too.

@HRHKingFriday: It would be nice if the glut of product in eBay resulted in prices being driven down so that they are reasonable. More often than not, when I look for something on eBay, total cost is higher than just buying it from Amazon.

"We live in a small town, and everybody looks at your clothes and what you drive and where you have your hair done," said Ms. Gamble, who earns about $2,600 a month as a grievance counselor at a local prison."

The small town is Elk City, Oklahoma. Remind me not to move there.

@humphrmi: Then come sit next to me!
Granted my co-workers and I earn more in the $25-35K range, but we compete more over how little we can spend on things. We work in a store surrounded by higher-end merchandise, but unless we get it gratis (which is relatively often) we rarely spend money on branded goods. Perhaps it is all the sad folks we see on a daily basis looking for their next shot of happiness via a swipe of the plastic.

@kimsama: I agree. I lived in leesburg for a summer driving a not-so-pretty 95 Toyota Corola. I got most of my stares from the Prime Outlets people.

Now that I'm living in DC, my Corola is generally status quo.

@Bladefist: Good luck with that. You might get health care and a mortgage bailout, but you're gonna have to work for that welfare.And have kids.

@xQuizx: I have had this exact experience. In Chicago specifically, the HD signals are pretty good, and so I can pull a better HD signal than what RCN or Comcast deliver. Between the major networks, WGN/CW and all that extra crap, along with the half dozen PBS stations, you can actually pull about a good dozen or more (depending on your taste) decent channels, all in great quality...for free.

The only pain is dealing without sporting events, which is why after a year I had to pay the minimal amount for espn and the others.