My pattern of consumption is definitely affected by advertising. Advertising makes products/material things look interesting, "cool", and when you see other people who have the product, it makes you want to buy it even more. You see advertising everywhere. You see them on TV, in magazines, on billboards, and on the computer as well. I buy mostly clothes, makeup and anything else that I find interesting.
Most of my friends buy more then I do. I don't buy a lot of things, mainly because I don't have the money to buy everything I want. There are some of my friends that do spend less then I do.
When it comes to how much money I can spend, where I stand changes. If I don't have a lot of money and I need to get gas or food, then I will use my money wisely and place myself at the simplicity side. If I have extra money in my pocket, I need to spend it on something. I would say that extra money burns a hole in my pocket. If that were the case, I would place myself at the conspicuous consumption side.
I feel that I sometimes can be too materialistic. I wish I didn't care about what I have or could have and focus more on what I need.
I would like to change myself to be more responsible with what I do with my money. Yes, the chapter's discussion does make me rethink about how I relate to "stuff".
