Do you ever feel guilty for owning too much "stuff"?

Question

No, I'm not rich...I feel wasteful sometimes.

Answer 1

No ... but I'm in a situation where money is a bit tight and I've come to realize how lucky I am to have the things I do have . Americans don't often appreciate that we are a very wealthy nation ... we have a lot of things that we take for granted .

   Not everyone is lucky enough to have what we call basics .

Answer 2

Money is not the root of evil

Evil is the root of money

Answer 3

I'm quite poor I have few material possesions, only clothes really. So in answer to your question, no.

Answer 4

I'm going to be the first to say Yes.

I am a compulsive hoarder and have a deep love/hate relationship with throwing anything away.   I loathe waste and wanton destruction with a vengeance and worry about all the things that have gone missing, but I also feel a tremendous sense of triumph with every box or bagful that I have managed to sort and dispose of.

I am over 50 and now drowning in a lagoon of "stuff" and it will take many lifetimes I fear to go through it all, agonising over every sheet of paper and used plastic pot and broken electrical item that I will get round to fixing one day.

At least I know that when I die, I can finally travel light!

Answer 5

Living in a society where people squander what they have available? Yeah.  That bothers me because Americans have the tendency to use everything wastefully and excessively. (look at fast food and gasoline)  But do I feel guilty for owning too much "stuff" in general??  No way.  I have worked hard for everything I have and I have no regrets for doing so.  I think people that have everything given to them SUCK! hahahahaha  But if someone works hard and comes short- I always feel the need to help them in any way I can-  because they deserve it. Feeling "entitled" is a huge problem for society... :)  

Answer 6

No. I am not rich, but I am not poor. When there are people that are born into families that have millions of dollars and get whatever they want, I have no reason to feel guilty.

Answer 7

Yeah I do. There are days when I imagine owning a yacht in a few years and owning my own private island, and then there are days when I think that if I ever became a doctor I'd work at the free clinic and do charity work in Africa.

I think sometimes, how hard is it to live without stuff in a society that places great value on the accumulation of stuff. Does is take a person with strong character to live in such a society, or is this just a clever excuse for being lazy? But I do actually feel guilty and I think it could be a self esteem thing for me. Like not thinking I deserve nice things when there are destitute people all around the world. I look at my peers driving their Honda's and Toyota's and they're all rushing out to get the lastest cool new furniture or useful thing from IKEA, or a new iPhone or whatever, while I could be content with the c**p I have and forgoing a shopping spree to save money for school.

Even my boyfriend looked around my room and was like 'you don't really have that much stuff.' I was like 'Ok, was I supposed to have a lot of stuff or something?'

Maybe it's a deeper issue for me, but I hope it's not debilitating in anyway for you.

Answer 8

No because I'm a student and I don't have much stuff.

But I sometimes can't understand why people have so much stuff that they don't use so I can Imagen that I would probably feel guilty if i had too much stuff.

If that was the case then I Imagen that I could get rid of that feeling by using/looking at my stuff every so often or by letting other people use it. Although, you might not want to do that.

I'd say that if you have too much stuff then you are probably at a stage in your life when you don't need any more stuff unless its important stuff. You could pass on your old stuff and maybe get new stuff.

Answer 9

No

Answer 10

No I never feel guilty. I've worked very hard for the stuff that I do have. I am very proud of that!

If guilt is a problem for you do some volunteer work...That satisfaction always cancels out guilt :)

Answer 11

Not at all.

Answer 12

I don't think I own to much stuff but, I always am giving  clothes and other things away because I hate to much junk it clutters my mind.  But, I would never feel bad about it if I did because I work, so I can buy whatever I want. And I do. And I never use credit cards. I would hate to have to pay for something I don't even want anymore.  But I don't really want to many things so it works for me.

Answer 13

Yes, I feel guilty for my material possessions.

I used to own 8-tracks.  I felt guilty when they made me upgrade to LPs.  Then I felt even more guilty when they made me upgrade to cassette tapes.  Then I felt guiltiest when they tried to make me upgrade to CDs.  Now they want me to upgrade to .mp3s.  WELL A MAN JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE.  So I spend all my time listening to my Vanilla Ice / Guns 'n Roses / Richard Marx mix tape that I made in 1991.  I don't dare accumulate any more stuff.