No.750: The Wednesday Five #32

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

Daily exposure to an economically diverse set of people is one reason Americans began engaging in more upward comparison.  A shift in advertising patterns is another.  Traditionally advertisers had targeted their market by earnings, using one medium or another depending on the income group they were trying to reach.  They still do this.  But now the huge audiences delivered by television make it the best medium for reaching just about every financial group.  While Forbes readers have a much higher median income than television viewers, it’s possible to reach more wealthy people on television than in the pages of any magazine, no matter how targeted its readership.  A major sports event or an ER episode is likely to deliver more millionaires and more laborers than a medium aimed solely at either group.  That’s why you’ll find ads for Lincoln town cars, Mercedes-Benz sports cars, and $50,000 all-terrain vehicles on the Super Bowl telecast.  In the process, painters who earn $25,000 a year are being exposed to buying pressures never intended for them, and middle-class housewives look at products once found only in the homes of the wealthy. – The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need, p.10

This book was written in 1998 so naturally, the examples are a bit dated.  Yet I can’t help but think that this idea has exploded since the invention of social media!  We are constantly bombarded with photos and products and lifestyles that most of us cannot afford, which leads to envy, dissatisfaction, unhappiness and a lot of debt.  I’m excited to keep reading and learn about her solution to this problem.

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this site for canning recipes (getting ready for tomatoes!)
• this book about Sister Mary Wilhelmina
• this DIY stepping stone tutorial

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

The Blue Kitchen by Margaret Olley

AN INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO

I loved this video about the Fairfield Carmelites and the attention and care taken for their new monastery.  I’ve been inspired to make the ordinary spaces of my home beautiful, just like them.

A LITTLE HUMOR

A true to life picture of myself last week!  We managed to go without air conditioning throughout most of May and I was really hoping for a cheaper bill.  No such luck.  What do electricity costs look like where you live?