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Allan from Fallbrook
ParticipantWhat a great letter! Pretty much sums it up, right?
Course, those new iPhones are pretty nice…
ParticipantWhat a great letter! Pretty much sums it up, right?
Course, those new iPhones are pretty nice…
ParticipantTeddyboy: Remember when going to McDonald’s was a big deal? As a kid, I got to go to Mickey D’s maybe 3 to 4x per month and, let me tell you, it was a big deal! I used to get real gleeped up about that, mainly due to the infrequency of going. My kids bug me about going there literally daily.
I also didn’t have a lot of toys growing up (mainly because of the emphasis on sports and outdoor activities) and I was taught to take care of the ones I did have.
Somewhere along the line, a divergence occurred, especially with kids and the values system. They have so many things and things are so easily acquired, that nothing really has value anymore. Sadly, the parents aren’t much better.
Not to sound overly simplistic, but much of what we’re seeing now is really just keeping up with the Joneses, both for the parents and the kids. Toys, toys, toys.
I’m a total Xbox junkie and I have to remind myself when I’m in Game Crazy with my son to practice some restraint and discretion. It ain’t fun, but I also remember the message I am sending to him when we’re there as well.
As a country and a society, I think we need a good swift kick in the pants. Perhaps this upcoming bust is it. Then again, probably not. We don’t seem very adept at picking up the message anymore.
ParticipantTeddyboy: Remember when going to McDonald’s was a big deal? As a kid, I got to go to Mickey D’s maybe 3 to 4x per month and, let me tell you, it was a big deal! I used to get real gleeped up about that, mainly due to the infrequency of going. My kids bug me about going there literally daily.
I also didn’t have a lot of toys growing up (mainly because of the emphasis on sports and outdoor activities) and I was taught to take care of the ones I did have.
Somewhere along the line, a divergence occurred, especially with kids and the values system. They have so many things and things are so easily acquired, that nothing really has value anymore. Sadly, the parents aren’t much better.
Not to sound overly simplistic, but much of what we’re seeing now is really just keeping up with the Joneses, both for the parents and the kids. Toys, toys, toys.
I’m a total Xbox junkie and I have to remind myself when I’m in Game Crazy with my son to practice some restraint and discretion. It ain’t fun, but I also remember the message I am sending to him when we’re there as well.
As a country and a society, I think we need a good swift kick in the pants. Perhaps this upcoming bust is it. Then again, probably not. We don’t seem very adept at picking up the message anymore.
ParticipantJES: Absolutely right. Societally speaking, our priorities have gotten so far out of whack, it isn’t even funny.
I build my football teams around hard work, perserverance, and staying the course no matter how tough it gets. Every single season, I have dozens of parents come up to me to say thanks. These kids all respond positively to the message and are very different when they leave the season.
I can remember Little League and Pop Warner as a kid and how much you had to work for your position and for the right to play on the team. Somewhere along the line, we have lost that ethic. Now, you don’t have to work to earn, you can just charge it. Or suck the money out of your overpriced house in the form of an equity line.
Maybe it is my Catholic upbringing, but I do agree with you about not taking it with you. And in spite of all this material wealth, a whole helluva lot of these people seem downright miserable.
Good for you for helping out, by the way.
ParticipantJES: Absolutely right. Societally speaking, our priorities have gotten so far out of whack, it isn’t even funny.
I build my football teams around hard work, perserverance, and staying the course no matter how tough it gets. Every single season, I have dozens of parents come up to me to say thanks. These kids all respond positively to the message and are very different when they leave the season.
I can remember Little League and Pop Warner as a kid and how much you had to work for your position and for the right to play on the team. Somewhere along the line, we have lost that ethic. Now, you don’t have to work to earn, you can just charge it. Or suck the money out of your overpriced house in the form of an equity line.
Maybe it is my Catholic upbringing, but I do agree with you about not taking it with you. And in spite of all this material wealth, a whole helluva lot of these people seem downright miserable.
Good for you for helping out, by the way.
Participantbsrsharma: This is my third season coaching in Fallbrook. I attend coaches meetings every year and can recall seeing Mercedes C and E series, BMW 5 and 7 series and big SUVs the previous two seasons in the parking lot at the meetings. Not this year. Now, it’s more Chevy and Ford pickups and Toyota Camrys.
You get the sense of the air coming out of the balloon when you speak with folks, too. Previous couple of years it was this feeling of hubris (money to burn, house is appreciating) and now you get this underlying sense of anxiety.
I know a lot of folks that are buying groceries with credit cards, are not going on summer vacation to Disney World (or at all) this year or are pulling their kids out of private school.
I grew up in a pretty affluent area of the SF/Bay Area and went to Catholic school for 12 years. My dad was an aerospace engineer in Palo Alto. All in all, I had a pretty good life growing up, but it was nothing compared to the over the top, excessively lavish lifestyles that some of these families are enjoying (or were enjoying).
I remember seeing an H2 Hummer with an Xbox, DVD player (overhead) and video screens on the headrests for the kids in the back. The mom explained that her kids needed their “entertainment” and it was easier to spend the money on this gear than listen to them complain on road trips.
Gotta love those credit cards and that HELOC!
Participantbsrsharma: This is my third season coaching in Fallbrook. I attend coaches meetings every year and can recall seeing Mercedes C and E series, BMW 5 and 7 series and big SUVs the previous two seasons in the parking lot at the meetings. Not this year. Now, it’s more Chevy and Ford pickups and Toyota Camrys.
You get the sense of the air coming out of the balloon when you speak with folks, too. Previous couple of years it was this feeling of hubris (money to burn, house is appreciating) and now you get this underlying sense of anxiety.
I know a lot of folks that are buying groceries with credit cards, are not going on summer vacation to Disney World (or at all) this year or are pulling their kids out of private school.
I grew up in a pretty affluent area of the SF/Bay Area and went to Catholic school for 12 years. My dad was an aerospace engineer in Palo Alto. All in all, I had a pretty good life growing up, but it was nothing compared to the over the top, excessively lavish lifestyles that some of these families are enjoying (or were enjoying).
I remember seeing an H2 Hummer with an Xbox, DVD player (overhead) and video screens on the headrests for the kids in the back. The mom explained that her kids needed their “entertainment” and it was easier to spend the money on this gear than listen to them complain on road trips.
Gotta love those credit cards and that HELOC!
Participantbsrsharma: Had to be HELOC money. Most of the developments I am familiar with up there are fairly new and most of these parents were Orange County transplants who couldn’t afford to buy/live in OC, and so they came down to Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, etc. within the last couple of years.
I happen to know a lot of coaches up there as well, and quite a few of them are losing players due to families selling and moving from California, or they have players where the parents are now facing financial difficulties.
I spoke with one coach who has a returning player that he has coached two years previously. The player’s dad was known as a big spender over the previous two years when it came to the team, purchasing everything from equipment to individual player items. Different story this year. The dad had to scrape just to cover the entry fee for Pop Warner.
I realize that this is anecdotal at best, but it does illustrate that the party seems to be coming to an end. I know that locally, quite a few folks are quietly selling off RVs, boats, third cars, etc. that were purchased with HELOCs and seconds.
Participantbsrsharma: Had to be HELOC money. Most of the developments I am familiar with up there are fairly new and most of these parents were Orange County transplants who couldn’t afford to buy/live in OC, and so they came down to Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, etc. within the last couple of years.
I happen to know a lot of coaches up there as well, and quite a few of them are losing players due to families selling and moving from California, or they have players where the parents are now facing financial difficulties.
I spoke with one coach who has a returning player that he has coached two years previously. The player’s dad was known as a big spender over the previous two years when it came to the team, purchasing everything from equipment to individual player items. Different story this year. The dad had to scrape just to cover the entry fee for Pop Warner.
I realize that this is anecdotal at best, but it does illustrate that the party seems to be coming to an end. I know that locally, quite a few folks are quietly selling off RVs, boats, third cars, etc. that were purchased with HELOCs and seconds.
ParticipantNot to wax philosophical here or anything, but the price of keeping up with the Joneses has gotten ever higher.
I coach Pop Warner in Fallbrook and I can recall traveling to away games in Temecula and Murrieta last season. The parking lots at the games were packed full of brand spanking new Denalis, Suburbans, Excursions and H2 Hummers, all sporting either TVPW (Temecula Valley Pop Warner) or MVPW (Murrieta Valley) window stickers. Everyone had that same vaguely “Stepford” look to them and signs of conspicuous consumption were everywhere, from kids sporting $200 helmets and $150 monogrammed gear bags (these were 8 and 9 year olds, by the way), to a team mom with a 5 carat diamond bracelet emblazoned with a “Football Mom” moniker etched in platinum.
Not that Fallbrook doesn’t have it’s share of this same nonsense, but the sheer “in your face” nature of it was overwhelming up there.
ParticipantNot to wax philosophical here or anything, but the price of keeping up with the Joneses has gotten ever higher.
I coach Pop Warner in Fallbrook and I can recall traveling to away games in Temecula and Murrieta last season. The parking lots at the games were packed full of brand spanking new Denalis, Suburbans, Excursions and H2 Hummers, all sporting either TVPW (Temecula Valley Pop Warner) or MVPW (Murrieta Valley) window stickers. Everyone had that same vaguely “Stepford” look to them and signs of conspicuous consumption were everywhere, from kids sporting $200 helmets and $150 monogrammed gear bags (these were 8 and 9 year olds, by the way), to a team mom with a 5 carat diamond bracelet emblazoned with a “Football Mom” moniker etched in platinum.
Not that Fallbrook doesn’t have it’s share of this same nonsense, but the sheer “in your face” nature of it was overwhelming up there.
ParticipantTimes they are a changin’, though.
Blackstone’s share price is getting savaged right now, KKR is having similar issues, as is US Foodservice (when it comes to floating issues) and many of the senior players in the bridge financing business are increasingly reluctant to “play along” with the big PE and hedge fund players.
Much like the LBO frenzy of the 1980s, at some point the party comes to a close and the bill comes due. If we are not at that point, we are darn close.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. And, as bad as some of this dealmaking is, I would prefer to keep government and legislators out of the market. You’d just be trading one evil for another. Much of the dynamism found in our market is due to exactly this kind of buccaneering behavior. Is it prone to excess? Yup. Is it always bad? Nope.
ParticipantTimes they are a changin’, though.
Blackstone’s share price is getting savaged right now, KKR is having similar issues, as is US Foodservice (when it comes to floating issues) and many of the senior players in the bridge financing business are increasingly reluctant to “play along” with the big PE and hedge fund players.
Much like the LBO frenzy of the 1980s, at some point the party comes to a close and the bill comes due. If we are not at that point, we are darn close.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. And, as bad as some of this dealmaking is, I would prefer to keep government and legislators out of the market. You’d just be trading one evil for another. Much of the dynamism found in our market is due to exactly this kind of buccaneering behavior. Is it prone to excess? Yup. Is it always bad? Nope.
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