Is the real issue with the Workd today, too much stuff being manufactured?

I can’t help but think that too much stuff is being made, and most of it is destined for the dump in under a year.

I lived very car minimally for the last 4 years compared to everyone that I know. And I love to drive, for fun...

But about 3 years ago I stopped buying stuff, “stuff”. Stuff that looks neat or whatever junk in the store on sale. I sometimes wait over a year before I decide to actually purchase something, and I pretty much only buy high end items now.

I can afford to buy “expensive” shoes that cost over $100?! (that’s what my relatives say)... but I save thousands by not buying other trinkets that are shipped by the ton from overseas...

I also pressured my wife to slim down on a lot of her stuff and not replace it, but she seems addicted to buying. But in the past year or so she’s finally slowed herself down and she too, has started carefully planning purchases if she must buy.

I also don’t make a good living at all. My income sucks. But I end up with nicer, longer lasting equipment and ultimately spend less.

The "real issue" it would seem to me, is the "keeping up with the Jones's"... IMO...

I would agree with the "keeping up with the Jones's", there is very little doubt that people are competing to win a game where there is no actual winner, just a bunch of broke people.

Sometimes it’s about how you use stuff.
E.g. a cheap shirt on itself might not always be warm, but it may well be just fine when you apply a layering system

And, often new stuff is simply old stuff with a new color / appearance. No need to go expensive every time.

People convince themselves they need stuff, often stuff that they really don't. I wonder if that's related to an upbringing of reward by material goods.

I heard someone (Brian Tracy maybe) say that it's a reward loop created when we were children around candy. We get money from parents/grandparents and the first thing we want to do is buy candy, which creates the reward loop. Get money, buy candy, repeat.

It's funny, as I've gotten older, I "want" stuff less. It's hard now to come up with birthday suggestions - I usually ask folks to donate to animal rescues. Being retired means I don't need stuff to go to work, which really reduced the amount of "stuff" I wanted or needed. I've always bought quality over quantity so my "stuff" has lasted a long time. I think as you get older you realize "stuff" is mostly an encumbrance. What matters are experiences and relationships. I'd much rather go "do" something than buy something now. Memories last forever.

It's partly marketing by businesses. They need to continuously sell goods and services to stay in business, but we in the west live in an affluent society where most people's basic needs are met, so they have to continuously convince you to spend money on stuff you don't actually need. So they use all the psychological tools at their disposal to get you to feel like you need lattes, or manicures, or figurines, or wealth management or a Range Rover or whatever, in order to be happy.

Access to credit, replaceable commodities, throw away culture, immediate gratification, materialism, consumerism, etc, etc. This all contributes to how people perceive goods and services.

Hopefully, people can work on dealing with slightly less, recycling, and being responsible for their actions and behaviors to curb the overall impact.