My DH and I watch the show Corner Gas. It’s a show about a very small town called Dog River in Saskatchewan. This is similar to a small town in the middle of the USA. People live the same lifestyle.
Anyway one episode discussed the storyline of being “bumped up a class” in spending. What does that mean? Well a new woman in town, Lacey, was invited to dinner a family’s home. She decided to bring a lovely bottle of wine for $15, because going empty-handed didn’t seem right. Well the couple who invited her, Oscar and Emma, were used to drinking a 2L bottle for $5. Thus when they tasted a better quality of wine, they felt they could no longer go “back”. They were “bumped up a class” in wines. They felt they had spoiled themselves and gotten used to “expensive” wine.
In retaliation Oscar and Emma put on a lovely brunch for Lacey in an effort to get her hooked on their biscuits. Super difficult to make and impossible to live without. It didn’t work. They were so disappointed.
Finally Lacey received a pen from another character Hank as gift. Turns out she too got “bumped up a class” because the refills for the pen were $15, but she was unable to go back to cheaper pens because they don’t “glide across the paper.”
So what’s the point of the story? I guess it’s the idea that we all have our “class” or spending habits. Habits we feel are normal or good to us. We buy food, goods, based on our idea of what is good and reasonably priced. It’s not until we try something that we realize what we have is either superior or inferior.
And it’s harder because some times we get a taste a of a better lifestyle by accident. Like a friend bringing a bottle of wine that you’d never have paid $15 for yourself. But then you want to only drink that wine. Or a friend introducing you to fine cuts of meat and finding it hard to be satisfied with cheaper cuts.
What do you do? How do you survive having a taste of a “better” lifestyle? In the show the characters end up trading up their lifestyles for a better lifestyle. But it’s minor changes like a pen, wine, jam. How do you deal with major changes?
Like getting a new company car every two years, but then changing jobs and having to drive your old beater? Or getting a company card for meals out, then changing jobs and having to pay for your own dining?
I wonder if some of our problems come from getting used to a better “quality” of life that we don’t actually pay for. Then we try to keep that same lifestyle though it’s really not affordable?
7 responses so far ↓
1 MoneyGrubbingLawyer // Sep 3, 2008 at 9:19 am
First of all, props for referencing Corner Gas- perhaps the best Canadian television show since The Littlest Hobo.
I have had the (mis)fortune of being “bumped up a class” on a number of things. At my previous job, I have a nice expense account and lots of meals at the best restaurants in town. I think that spoiled me- a Big Mac just doesn’t compare to filet mignon! I have also had the same thing happen after watching football on a friend’s brand new LCD HDTV. When I got home, the players looked so small and fuzzy on my TV- at first I thought it was glaucoma, but it was just envy.
How do I cope? Well, I don’t cope particularly well. I grumble and sulk and think that my life sucks. Then I try to think logically about it, and my financial goals… and then usually just grumble and sulk a little more :).
2 Livingalmostlarge // Sep 3, 2008 at 10:12 am
Gotta love corner gas. But it’s easy I think to take for granted if it’s a job perk all the things you never pay for but get like lunches, cars, travel, etc.
3 Kristy // Sep 3, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Fortunately, we have never had major changes, just minor class changes. I enjoy a good wine or a good tequila in my margaritas. So I have upgraded since I have graduated college 8 years ago. DH and I live frugally compared to others and we just try to stick to our goals.
4 Meg // Sep 3, 2008 at 12:42 pm
That is hilarious. And it definitely happens, especially with food in my case. My solution is usually just to enjoy better stuff but less often, or cut back on other things.
For example, I’m hooked on heirloom and organic tomatoes, but now I use them in tomato sandwiches in place of meat. And I’m also more careful not to waste organic food since it is more expensive (unless I grow it myself in which case it’s even more precious to me). I also like more expensive chocolate, but that’s been a good thing since I can’t afford to eat too many and the cheap stuff just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
Along those lines, my husband and I have given up a lot of things as we realized that we really couldn’t afford them, but we’ve been able to appreciate a lot of new things, like taking walks together instead of going to the gym, and eating out less often but making a real occasion out of it. So, as a result, we feel like we’re living better even as we’re spending less.
5 LivingAlmostLarge // Sep 3, 2008 at 4:27 pm
My big change was 3 years ago not having cable to having cable. Wowsa. Never had the luxury like this before where we have HD to boot. That only came 1 year ago the HD, but it’s awesome and I wonder how’ll I’ll ever go back?
Truth is that I felt indulgent enough just getting cable 3 years ago, though it was built into the budget before we even moved and bought a home. We just wanted it after 5 years of not having it.
3 years ago my DH ran a fantasy hosting company and during graduate school we had to have cable internet. Like now it was paid for by the business. So it justified the expense.
Now though it’s better because of all you lovely readers who help me justify the cost of my FIOS internet. So though I pay $100/month for cable, internet, phone the internet is for my blog, phone is for my DH’s business and only the cable is pure luxury. So I don’t feel so bad spending $50/month for HD and cable.
6 debtdieter // Sep 3, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Great post!
I don’t pay for my ADSL2+ or my mobile (cell) phone, and haven’t done for years as they’re free as part of my work benefits.
I think it would kill me to have to start paying for them both again after all this time!
7 Laura // Sep 15, 2008 at 1:15 pm
The best example of this for me was when I used to live with my ex (when we were together) he bought a PVR (TiVo). I didn’t really care about the HD part, but the pausing and rewinding of live TV, and skipping commercials, and watching my fave shows whenever I wanted? I think I missed that PVR more than my ex when we broke up. Which means it’s probably a good thing we broke up, hehe.
Leave a Comment