7.01.2005

Help! Help! I'm Drowning in Consumerism!

Econo-Girl waits patiently for the commercials. There! A new car! I could lease one! Wouldn't that be cheaper?

Of course she got a car last September at CarMax and it's a damn fine one. But the siren song of Newer, Better is wafting towards her. Is it really that stupid to lease? My sister is always talking about how she made the three stupidest decisions in her life in the space of a week: to marry her first husband, buy a house in the white ghetto of Fishtown, and to lease a car.

But - but - but - wouldn't Econo-Girl be sexy in a neat new car? And just a little superior? Wouldn't that car give her unlimited ability to push buttons and watch appendages to it move around and blink? Some of them have shipboard computers - I mean, car navigational systems. Wouldn't Louis XIV give his left pinky toe to have some of these gadgets?

I've got to talk to my sister. She'll set me straight.

Econo-Girl still wants to throw out all of her clothes and get new ones. She feels stodgy. She will not yield to impulse. As Mother always said, it's really what's in the clothes that counts. Be healthy. So Leisure Lad and Econo-Girl are going on the South Beach diet starting Monday. Will let you know if I still 'need' a new car after that.

3 comments:

Econo-Girl said...

Yes. But confessions are good for the soul. Econo-Girl is not immune to the cultural influences around us. She fights it tooth and nail.

When will it be cool to be frugal?

Econo-Girl

The Lazy Iguana said...

Resist the urge. Or don't. Consumerism is the last thing keeping the ship floating. If people stop buying, everything goes to hell.

Anonymous said...

Econo:

I am going to sound like a commercial right now. If you are going to buy a car now is the best time to do as they will not get much cheaper . . . especially GM who has oodles of them lying around. GM employee discount plus rebates plus 4.9% interest for 60 months.

If the old car is still fairly new, why trade? You will never get your money out of it.