Just a temporary steward for big corporations' money?

[kittenwhiskers]

I was just watching TV and sitting through some commercials and realized there is a basic assumption here... that the money collecting dust in your account actually belongs to some big corporation somewhere and you are just a temporary steward for that cash. They aren't trying to get us to spend money. They are trying to convince us that THEIR company is a so much better place to fork over your money than whatever company is coming up next.

HEY. What if I want to actually keep it for myself, and not give it to any one of you?! Ever!

Just sayin'... Mustache level 1.0?

[Thegoblinchief]

I don't follow.

[kittenwhiskers]

What I mean is, all these companies shovel millions or even billions of dollars into advertising... for burgers, cars, ipads, or whatever... with the unspoken assumption that you ARE going to spend all your money (thereby getting back their investment and then some) probably sooner rather than later, and they are just trying to get to it first.

First step separating from consumerist culture... no I am not going to give you my money... or the next company advertising... or the next. I'm going to keep this dollar for myself!

[Cathy]

I liked your post, kittenwhiskers. Of course, most posters here do indeed give all our money to a big corporation (or other legal entity), such as VTSAX.

[innkeeper77]

A dollar kept for yourself is 100% useless if it is NEVER spent. What is useful is trading that dollar to other random people for pieces of said big corporations. They then generate more dollars! Money in and of itself should not be valued to such an extent, just the freedom it brings.

Oh, and Cathy, VTSAX isn't giving money to a corporation, it is closer to the opposite. The only time investing in the stock market and giving money to a corporation coincide is if you take part in an IPO.

[Cathy]

Oh, and Cathy, VTSAX isn't giving money to a corporation, it is closer to the opposite. The only time investing in the stock market and giving money to a corporation coincide is if you take part in an IPO.

Purhasing shares of VTSAX is definitely giving money to a corporation or other legal entity, namely VTSAX itself, which is also what I already said above. VTSAX isn't some magic device that invests your money; it is actually an entity itself and you are giving it your money.

[kittenwhiskers]

I don't mean under my mattress or anything.... I just meant you can keep your slick little iphone 6. I'd rather not trade my money for your goods.

I do like how you all are assuming we were talking about investment vs. not investing. That's the kind of company I need to keep, rather than people sitting around the lunch table talking about their newest gadgets.

[Rezdent]

What I mean is, all these companies shovel millions or even billions of dollars into advertising... for burgers, cars, ipads, or whatever... with the unspoken assumption that you ARE going to spend all your money (thereby getting back their investment and then some) probably sooner rather than later, and they are just trying to get to it first.

First step separating from consumerist culture... no I am not going to give you my money... or the next company advertising... or the next. I'm going to keep this dollar for myself!

Agree that it is implied in their advertising.
However, I think it's less that a company believes you are going to spend money instead of save it.  I think it is more that they want consumers to buy into the idea.  Apparently, this works, it is now normal for people to spend everything.

[nobodyspecial]

They are trying to convince us that THEIR company is a so much better place to fork over your money than whatever company is coming up next.

It's a classic sales tactic. "Do you want this car in red or blue?" - not - "Do you want to buy this car?"

[mozar]

Oh, that's a good point about sales tactics. I used to think (a long time ago)that corporations would be angry at me, and would come after me, if I didn't spend money on them.
No company deserves your money. Which is exactly what the chairman of Shine ad bloc said recently: "nobody [in business] has a god-given right to exist"
It's interesting if you want to read about it.
http://www.businessinsider.com/digicel-becomes-first-mobile-carrier-to-sign-up-shine-ad-blocker-2015-9

Mustachian 2.0: give away the tv.

[somebody8198]

That's a good insight into the sales tactics. I read once that one major strategy is to create urgency in the buyer. "Buy now! Interest rates are about to go up!" "Sale! Prices are unusually low!" To sell someone something they don't need, this kind of strategy is needed. You must convince the buyer that they do need the product. Unfortunately our culture is awash in this kind of crap because so much of our GDP is driven by "consumer spending."

But what other commenters are saying is true. You can't really "hold on" to your money. Cash is depreciating in value all the time. So you probably do want to spend it – by buying assets. Ideally appreciating assets, such as stock or residential property, and not a 100% depreciating asset like a car or a boat.

MMM basically does advocate giving your money to corporations. Mustachianism is anti-consumerist for many reasons, but it's definitely not anti-capitalist. Indeed, it is profoundly capitalist, since the goal is to own as much capital as possible and to eschew purchases that do not give you capital. Most of the world's wealth is either generated by corporations or by natural resources. The only way to acquire wealth if you aren't already wealthy is therefore to buy part of the corporations (or the natural resources, if you're into agriculture). Honestly, I was very hesitant about buying stocks until I made this realization and accepted this as inevitable.

[kittenwhiskers]

Interesting point. Since we want our little green employees working for us, making more little green employees (MMM blog term), the best place to put them to work is in the very same companies that are blowing money everywhere trying to get the average consumer to buy MORE MORE MORE. Meanwhile mustachians maximize frugal living, quietly grooming their 'stashes, essentially letting someone else fund their early retirement. Interesting...

[sheepstache]

No company deserves your money. Which is exactly what the chairman of Shine ad bloc said recently: "nobody [in business] has a god-given right to exist"
It's interesting if you want to read about it.
http://www.businessinsider.com/digicel-becomes-first-mobile-carrier-to-sign-up-shine-ad-blocker-2015-9

Interesting!

[somebody8198]

Interesting point. Since we want our little green employees working for us, making more little green employees (MMM blog term), the best place to put them to work is in the very same companies that are blowing money everywhere trying to get the average consumer to buy MORE MORE MORE. Meanwhile mustachians maximize frugal living, quietly grooming their 'stashes, essentially letting someone else fund their early retirement. Interesting...

Yes, that's sort of how I think about it. Buying equity is sort of like letting the sucka consumers work for you.

But I wouldn't say that those companies are "blowing money." Advertising works. Some corporations have advertising budgets that account for up to 30% of their costs. Sure, it's an existentially meaningless endeavor, but it's a necessary evil if you're a company that sells directly to consumers. Unfortunately it does pollute our world with stupid, confusing messages; but those messages are only effective against easily-confused people. And those of us who don't watch television aren't subjected to quite as many of them.

In any case, a lot of the corporations you're owning by buying into an index are not quite so evil as the cartoonish Megacorp LLC we are describing here. Many are developing medical technology, energy technology, etc. Owning a piece of a company that actually does something constructive is something to be proud of. Not to mention, such companies employ many of the consumers who buy their products, either directly or indirectly.