COMPLAINING ABOUT THE COST OF LIVING?

[young]

PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING MORE THAN 2 OF THE FOLLOWING - Should they be complaining about the cost of living?

1. buying clothes every month or so and not using half of whats in the cupboard.
2. buying music CD everytime a new one gets released
3. driving around with expensive vehicles (especially ones that take a lot of fuel)
4. sending funny MMS and sms and complaining about the bill.
5. eating out more than once every 2 weeks.
6. DSTV (some of them have all the channels and dont watch more than quarter of all)
7 watching too much TV and not having enough time to shop at a cheaper store (or even price watch at supermarkets) - some buy a lot of groceries at garage convenient "quick shops" where you pay double for every thing.
8. expensive cars to "keep up with the Jones" or simply show. (OH I've WORKED HARD AND DESERVE IT)
9. Too proud to wait for your 50c or 10c change at a store.

.......CAN YOU THINK OF MORE TO ADD TO THE LIST?

My question is : if the cost of living is high for people, where are they getting all the money to be present at ques at the movies and still come out of shopping malls with such such huge bags?

Are the big home theatre screens necessary?

[Karenwhe]

Wow, brilliant post. I hope enough people read it to start thinking about affordability and what it is all about.

I can add:
1. Buying books when the last dozen have never been read (goes for magazine as well).
2. going on holidays when they live on access bonds
3. send their kids to private schools when they can't afford the monthly petrol costs
4. borrow money from friends and family to buy more "stuff" when they are already over extended in overdrafts and credit cards (that is why the have to result in borrowing money from friends and family)
5. blame interest rate increases on their affordability when they refinanced their home and used the money already to buy the new car
6. complain how bad the banks are when they can't afford the current debt and result in trying to open new accounts with new banks that don't see their current debt.

I could go on. Funny on PIN we had a similar thread going a few months ago on 50 points to increase affordability and all these points also came up.

[Debbiedle]

Mmmmm! Thanks for the wake up call Young. You are right, this is the time to ask ourselves some tough questions..........

Kids are on contract with cellphones.
Kids clothes are brand names and cost more than a weeks groceries for one pair of takkies.
A monthly shopping trip for mom includes, hairdo/facial/manicure/pedicure/wax = Rand value 10% of gross income.

[young]

hi
thanks for you view.
I know of a guy who's front boundary wall is NOT plastered and painted - just blockwork with wire mesh in between the gaps for the past 7 years - yet he has just installed a saterlite dish (DSTV)

regards
young

[Wesley George]

Hi

I present a show on radio Ccfm and last week this was my topic - how can we effectively stretch our Rands?

It seems that although life is becoming increasing difficult especially financially, there are creative ways to combat the problem.

We kind of threw around a few ideas on the show and it's good to know that people are thinking differently nowadays.

Take care.
Wesley George

[Dave A]

We kind of threw around a few ideas on the show and it's good to know that people are thinking differently nowadays.

Now don't think you're getting off that lightly, Wesley

What sort of ideas came up?