The Battered American Consumer: Even the Upper-Middle Class Is Feeling Economic Pain

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Music is a luxury.

[Imua 0]

I wanted to add, but it timed out:

As for TVs I was shocked to go into Costco and see the cheapest TV they had there was around $500 - when did they stop making $120 TVs? Everything is HD, LCD, plasma blablabla - when my 2004 20", $120 plain 'ol CRT TV dies I will probably not get another one, I mainly use it to watch the news anyway and you can get that from the net. My point is though that especially with easy credit, etc. I think cheaper alternatives have been unavailable in recent years. It has become a nation of projects and McMansions - where did all the 'starter homes' go that someone with an average American income of $40-$60K could afford??? With harder times we will probably(hopefully) see that change.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

As for TVs I was shocked to go into Costco and see the cheapest TV they had there was around $500 - when did they stop making $120 TVs?

You can get those from the smaller stores. I know you can find them in the Indian area in Iselin, I am sure JH has 'em too.

[Imua 0]

Music is a luxury.

Tell that to the birds...

[Imua 0]

As for TVs I was shocked to go into Costco and see the cheapest TV they had there was around $500 - when did they stop making $120 TVs?

You can get those from the smaller stores. I know you can find them in the Indian area in Iselin, I am sure JH has 'em too.

Good idea - I imagine Flushing would have them too - Chinese are known for frugality...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

... where did all the 'starter homes' go that someone with an average American income of $40-$60K could afford??? With harder times we will probably(hopefully) see that change.

Part of the problem was too many people were led to believe they could own.

Traditionally, if you didn't have the money for a 20-25% downpayment, you didn't own. That kept the potential buyer pool small and prices low.

Once we see the average home priced around 3x the household income of the average person with an adequate downpayment (as opposed to just an average person), prices should stabilize.

[DeadPoolX 9]

The problem isn't really with the Democrats or Republicans, but with American consumers themselves. Yes, both parties spend our tax dollars irresponsibly, but what hits the average American hardest is what they do on a day-to-day basis.

As a nation, we purchase an enormous amount of unnecessary junk. Does anyone really need an iPod? I'm sure you love your tunes, but your 20,000+ song list doesn't have to be handy at all hours of the day. Do you really need a 50-inch wide-screen LCD HDTV? Probably not, since a relatively smaller -- and less expensive -- one would suffice for most uses. Do you really need overpriced designer clothing with the aforementioned designer's name scribbled illegibly all over it, so you can act as a walking billboard? Maybe, depending on the item in question, but for most articles of clothing, it wouldn't really matter too much. Do you really need over a hundred pairs of shoes, most of which you'll only wear once in a while? Once again, no.

This is our problem. We often spend up to or beyond our means and then blame someone else for our own irresponsible monetary practices. I realize that salaries generally rise slower than the overall cost of goods, but shouldn't that tell you we should spend our money on what we need and perhaps save the rest?

For many years I said no - then my CD player died. Have you seen the meager selection of portable CD players in stores lately?? If you're an otherwise frugal person who takes public transportation, an iPod or similar music player is necessary, to prevent them from strangling the neck of the next gum-cracker, nail-clipper, religion-hawker or cellphone-blabberer that they happen to be sitting next to. If you drive and have a music system in your car, then it's probably a luxury. If you're listening to it when you're jogging, you're asking for trouble.

You're probably right. I usually listen to music on my PC or in my car, so I have little use for an iPod or Zune or anything like that. Public transportation would probably be a nightmare without such items, although I'd be concerned someone might rob me.

By the way, when I wrote those things, I didn't mean "no one should ever purchase anything fun." I just meant that -- using myself as an example -- getting an iPod would be an unnecessary expense, since I rarely take public transportation and can listen to music at home or in my car. I might end up using it once or twice and then it'd sit in some dusty corner.

I wanted to add, but it timed out:

As for TVs I was shocked to go into Costco and see the cheapest TV they had there was around $500 - when did they stop making $120 TVs? Everything is HD, LCD, plasma blablabla - when my 2004 20", $120 plain 'ol CRT TV dies I will probably not get another one, I mainly use it to watch the news anyway and you can get that from the net. My point is though that especially with easy credit, etc. I think cheaper alternatives have been unavailable in recent years. It has become a nation of projects and McMansions - where did all the 'starter homes' go that someone with an average American income of $40-$60K could afford??? With harder times we will probably(hopefully) see that change.

Most people like LCD, DLP and Plasma now since they take up less space and are lighter than CRT. Plus, most -- if not all -- are HD and digital, which is good since all TV signals are switching to digital signals in 2009. If anyone has a TV with an analog signal, they'll need to get a converter (if it's compatible) or a new TV. For the most part, the newer televisions are much better overall (the image is cleaner and easier on the eyes), but they do cost more. A CRT, if you can find one, wouldn't cost a whole lot nowadays.

The good news is that most modern LCD computer monitors and LCD televisions are virtually interchangeable. In other words, you can use your computer's LCD monitor as a TV and your LCD TV set as a monitor. You'll need to configure the setup and the right connections, of course, but it does work.