I agree with the old school philosophies (and I’m a proud liberal). Don’t buy it if you can’t afford it. The house is would be the only purchase one should borrow money for. Even then, families are getting smaller so children who inherit houses would not even need mortgages to pay for housing.
But cyphire is right. We have the economy we have because we spend. The big problem is that we have outsourced everything so the money is going overseas. If the foreigners don’t lend that money back to you, then we’re in deep doo doo.
Personally, I’m not helping the economy because I don’t buy anything since I don’t need anything.
However, you won’t see me dead in a Jerome’s store. I would rather buy used from Craigslist than new at Jerome’s. Do like the Dutch do. They have small tidy homes free and clear of junk. If you buy a sofa, buy a nice one and keep it forever. Americans buy mostly useless junk that they replace every year (but that makes the economy go round).
