Dan Gainor, The Examiner
2007-01-23 08:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

What do you want?

Come on, let’s see some of that legendary American greed. After all, these streets are paved with gold aren’t they? Hmmm. A mansion. A Rolls-Royce. A house on the Riviera (and another in Aspen). And lots more.

Give people an open-ended lottery fantasy and they spend more than members of Congress. Businesspeople are just as bad. They give out huge stock options, fancy lunches and premium sports tickets to keep people happy.

Now the better question: What do you need?

That list just got a lot shorter didn’t it? Only rock stars and millionaires need a Rolls-Royce and a mansion. The rest of us mostly need a decent car and a nice house. Businesspeople don’t need tons of new furniture, super-spiffy offices and company cars, either.

I resisted writing about budgeting at the beginning of the year largely because I don’t budget myself. It seemed hypocritical to recommend something and then ignore the implications in my own life.

But I do have a uniquely un-American confession to make. I am not a spend-aholic.

I celebrate the system of free markets and free enterprise, but I do so on my own terms. I buy what I need and some limited amount of what I want.

Now it’s your turn.

Don’t grab your credit cards and hold them up like you are warding off a vampire. I am not saying you can’t spend. I’m not even saying you can’t buy things you want. I am saying that it’s time for businesses and consumers to wise up, tighten that old belt a tad and stop the insanity.

We just survived a whole season of insanity. The British press reported that Jan. 22 is the most depressing day of the year because that is when the holiday bills finally hit.

And, according to one study, Americans spent $80 billion last year just on gift cards and one-tenth of that, or $8 billion, is projected to go unused.

I don’t know about you, but I sure could use $8 billion. Or $8 million. Heck, I’d take the eight bucks and whistle happily while I went out and got a free lunch.

But readers of this column know there is no such thing as a free lunch, and if you make $46,326 (the U.S. median household income), then you can’t afford to throw away money.

If you do throw some cash around, try these ideas from the experts:

» Pay off your highest interest loans (like credit cards);

» Invest a bit in your retirement (401(k)s, etc.);

» Save for a rainy day. (Everyone should have some money to fall back on in case of emergency.

No matter what, remember that if you want to throw your money away, there will always be people happy to catch it. Why not beat them to it?

Dan Gainor is The Boone Pickens Free Market Fellow at the Media Research Center’s Business & Media Institute, a career journalist and media commentator. He can be reached at gainorcolumn@gmail.com.