This meme reminded me of a day at my last startup, when I realized that my three juniorish female employees were walking around with purses by Chanel, Balenciaga, and Prada! Meanwhile, here I am the founder of the company with probably a purse from Target...

Target does offer a very nice selection of purses. 

I agree with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. 

Don't buy the $300 bag to have nothing in it. 

Buy the $10 bag and have $290 in it. 

Don't go broke trying to look rich!

It is an odd thing that advertising has taught some to buy certain products well beyond their means, pretty foolish when you actually think about it.

It IS foolish to buy beyond our means. So how do we teach people not to do that?

The people close to them in their lives: friends and family are the ones who have the most influence on them, peer pressure, shaming, and pointing out the manipulation of advertising can help, but if the people around you make the same bad decisions, it's harder to overcome.

That's true. We become more like the people we spend time with. 

I'm pretty cheap.  Really cheap, but a good friend has taught me to overcome it a little--"Spend money, but do it on things you value." I still struggle to spend, but I'm getting better.   I know what ads value to my life and I invest in those things--often experiences--and save where it has no value.  

So you bought a $10 bag, not a $300 bag?

But what if you can buy a $300 bag for $10 at a thrift store?  I'm recycling, dammit!

We're totally twinsies, Dawn! This post wasn't about living like a hermit and never spending any money... it wasn't even about buying a $10 purse at Target (they don't last very long, honestly)... it was about knowing yourself and having your own values in this materialistic world. That's why young people get into financial trouble: because they are still discovering themselves and what they truly need in life. Heck, if you have even the most glancing acquaintance with those "Real Housewives" shows, you can see that a lot of adults in this society spend too much because they don't have a strong purpose in life and therefore just try to fill it up by looking rich.

Joyce I love this advice: "Know yourself and have your own values."

Funny, Joyce--I'm writing an article on this tonight, where I get to quote myself being quoted as a cheapskate in the food department, lol.  I have to tell you my bag I love has a bottle opener--probably because it was designed in SF.  It's a waste, because I don't drink, but if I did, it wouldn't ever be a twist top, so it's a classy feature. 

I can't watch "Real Housewives" without feeling I've sinned... I've never seen it. If I watch it'll be contributing to the degradation of America, I think. 

I have a $100 bag, and I use it for everything.  Love it.  So, I will spend if it's useful... like on gadgets for example.  I use them, they make me productive, so I'll spend. 

I think in general that's a good rule of thumb.