Does size matter? or is it really about how you use it?
I dont like the Chevy Volt. The car is not yet out and I already dont like it. Especially becuase its a car that is not environmentally friendly. Yes its not environmental firendly becuase somewhere in the US, a giant hunk of coal will be burning to power it. And just because the car does not emit, that does not mean emission has not occurred on its behalf.
What is needed is not Volts, what is needed is no Hummers and Escalates on the road. They are the real problem. They block your view, waste energy and Pollute. Why cant we drive a small car? Why do we all need to be driving monster trucks and vans that drive empty 95% of the time? How does a family of 4 fit in a Honda Civic in Europe but not in the US or Canada?
You see we are obsessed with BIG, somewhere along the line, someone convinced us that SIZE MATTERS. Yes Size matters and as a result we have one of the biggest financial meltdowns.
The average European house is between 900-1000 square feet. That is it. A family of 4 or more lives in it, happily and comfortably. The average family owns 1 compact car. The average family shops for their daily meals. The average family eats a normal food portion.
On the flip side, somehow instead of a coffee and toast, someone convinced us that we need, 2 eggs, 3 sausages, hash browns, toast, coffee, jam, maybe a pancake or 2 to boot, some how we are convinced that we are all lumber jacks and therefore must have a huge breakfast before we go to work.
Somehow instead of a small environmentally firendly car, someone convinced us that we need a 5 liter SUV to drive on our big roads, becuase small cars that do the job on the autobahn in Germany, don’t work on I81.
Somehow instead of a modest size home, someone convinced us that we need a house that is the size of the lot its built on, a 4 bed room, 2500 sqr ft home with an ensuite and walk in closet, and just becuase that is not enough space, we have to finish the basement, and park the car in the drive way becuase our 2 door garage is full.
So what?
Big breakfasts, are not healthy. Big breakfasts are full of fat. Big breakfast make us unproductive. Big breakfast cost more.
Big cars, need more expensive tires. Big cars need more gas. Big cars need more expensive repairs. Big cars pollute. Big cars, cost more.
Big houses, need to be heated and cooled, big houses need furniture, big houses with big closets need to be filled as Daniel Arielle states in his book Predictably Irrational. Savings has an inverse relation to closet space. Big Houses cost more.
And so, big meals, cars, houses, etc… mean only one thing – NO SAVINGS, and that is absolutely dangerous.
In Part 2 – I will discuss the importance of saving on the economy. I will also discuss one of the root causes of the credit crunch, the one thing no one is talking about. Fixing the tax system.
