Anonymous wrote:Example: I enjoy cruises. Usually 7 day trips every few months and I think they are cost effective, even with the price of the cruise and a few extras like drink package, and random gift shop stuff, we usually come out at less than we would spend flying somewhere, staying in a hotel and then doing activities. The issue is that near the end of the cruise, I start to feel icky. Like looking around at all the excess and realizing it isn’t sustainable. Does anyone else feel like this?

Didn’t put this in the travel forum since it can apply to many things other than cruises (seeing store throw away merchandise, the amount of cars on the road, etc)

Are you fat ?

Yes! My teenager’s friends all do GrubHub and DoorDash. My daughter’s friend wanted to send her a Wendy’s frosty. I said no! This seems like the most Marie Antoinette-thing to me. Having some poor soul drive a frosty to her. Like the next step is heads on pikes!

There’s a lot in our society that I don’t like. It isn’t sustainable or ethical to exploit people.

For me it is watching them tear down perfectly good buildings to re-build something new on top. We need to re-purpose a lot more. The scale of building materials that get "trashed" is overwhelming. Of course look at the pictures from Florida; trashing all of that is unavoidable, but normal, perpetual re-building??

Only with my clothing. I'm two years from retirement and it's sick.

Yes. We try not to overdo Christmas, for example, but with relatives buying my kids stuff it just gets to be too much. We have a bunch of toys to donate this year to toy drives that got unwrapped but not opened. I'm hoping it gts better as they get older.

I wish there was a grocery store that only sold items in bulk so I could take reusable containers and fill them. Individually wrapped packages, though convenient, are causing us to drown in trash.

Yes, this is why I hate Costco. I look around that huge warehouse and think, "most of this is going straight in the trash". We consume too much.

This same thing has been on my mind. Came up again yesterday when reading the Hobby Lobby thread and then the thread about what to get the rich teen for her bday. Obviously I lurk on DCUM too much. So much disposable crap, and yes, it does depress me, even though I'm far from innocent in participating. Kids birthday party favors that go right in the trash, smelly fast fashion, the infinite scroll of ersatz home decor from Amazon, custom balloon arches for every conceivable milestone, slime kits, adult coloring books, all the holiday themed pillows, cake toppers, napkins, signs, lights, candles, on and on. It starts out in a factory in China, takes a trip on a shipping container, catches your eye from the dollar spot in target, has its moment in the sun and then sits in a landfill for eternity.

The sheer waste depresses me most. I’m not rich by DCUM standards, but certainly by most of America. We have so much stuff it’s insane. Then we buy bigger houses to fill with even more stuff.

Fast fashion, home decor, big box purchases that end up filling our basements and garages - why? So we can feel like we’ve made it in life?

The older I get, the less stuff I want to accumulate.

Anonymous wrote:I think this is why this area gets to me. The way people throw money around like it’s nothing, spoil themselves and their children simply because they can, and show very little gratitude or empathy for others. All while virtue-signaling yet chasing the next upgrade in their life.

YES! And they want to their values on others.

Things like cruises don’t bother me as much as all the lefty virtue signalers in their Priuses crowing about saving the earth while they live in a 5,000 sf house with their family of 4. The hypocrisy is gross.

Anonymous wrote:I think this is why this area gets to me. The way people throw money around like it’s nothing, spoil themselves and their children simply because they can, and show very little gratitude or empathy for others. All while virtue-signaling yet chasing the next upgrade in their life.

Yes and pay themselves on the back because they organized the sports team to adopt a child at a holiday and contributed one item.

I get icky sadness around Christmas and birthdays. It definitely has something to do with excess and too much family. I don't hate my family, I just get overwhelmed.

I think this is why this area gets to me. The way people throw money around like it’s nothing, spoil themselves and their children simply because they can, and show very little gratitude or empathy for others. All while virtue-signaling yet chasing the next upgrade in their life.

Cruises are disgusting and not much “depresses” you if you would willingly board one.

Cruises could make anyone depressed imo. Even if you enjoy them, 7 days? It’s a lot. There’s too much humanity.