People are supposed to love other people. So why is it that consumers are prone to borderline-romantic infatuations with stuff ranging from cars to computers, and even guns? A new study says loneliness is primarily to blame.
“For her, transformation is about self-esteem and about buying stuff.”
“Flea markets proliferate a volume of goods needing to be sold and people who are hungry — emotionally and aesthetically — to sort out the meaning of life … For most people who go on these ritualized scavenger hunts looking for something that they may not know exists, it is a kind of pilgrims’ process [...]
‘Tis the season to bring your clutter to the curb and offer it to the masses for free. It’s also the time of year to dust off your two-wheeler, pump up the tires, oil the chain, and—if it’s even in the realm of possibility—pedal your bicycle to work.
A new psychology study shows that people who feel loved and accepted by others place lower monetary values on material possessions than folks who feel insecure and unloved. In other words, the folks who don’t feel valued and appreciated tend to value their stuff more.
“The things we are trained to think make us happy, like having a new car every couple of years and buying the latest fashions, don’t make us happy.”
Four new books explore why consumers do what they do—even when they know it’s unhealthy, unsanitary, and/or obviously bad for their finances.
I’m a sucker for experiments—from the guy who didn’t get into a car for a year, to the blogger who asked for at least one discount daily, to the women who aren’t buying clothes for 365 days. Here, two more money-related experiments that caught my attention.
The result will be that instead of clutter, you’ll have space and a refreshing sense of Spartan simplicity—and you won’t have to look at all that stuff you never use, and probably should have never bought. And instead of money disappearing into the cash registers of retail centers all over your neck of the woods, [...]
