Last Year When We Used to Be Rich - or The Tale of My Washing Machine



Posted: Monday, March 23, 2009

by
Lise Howe

I waited for over 5 weeks for Sears to repair my one year old washing machine. Sears repair men have come out four different times with various new replacement parts but the washing machine is a big, new, complicated front loading steam washing machine, which can't be fix. These days, nothing is fixed any more - whole panel boards are pulled out and replaced because all our appliances are so computerized that they defy repair. Unfortunately, every time that Sears replaced a component in my washing machine, they either ordered the wrong part or identified and fixed only part of the problem. Hence, the 5 week wait.

Finally I lost my temper when Sears said my next appointment was scheduled for three weeks from that date. I demanded that they replace my unrepairable machine. Surprisingly, Sear agreed! Score one for the home team. Not only that - they are giving me a full credit for the machine. Now here is the embarassing thing. I had spent a ridiculous amount of money on the now old machine - because I could. I bought the best machine I could - not the best machine for my family of 3 - the machine I had bought before was (1) in retrospect, ridiculously expensive; (2) more "versatile" than I ever needed; and (3) way too complicated.

Now of course, all I want is a basic machine, powered by two gerbils in the basement, so that I know it won't break, but I am using the credit they are giving me to buy my new machine (and I hate to leave money on the table....)

The lesson I take away from this is that the last few years have been an incredible ride of unnecessary consumption - I didn't need a machine that complex or that offered so many bells and whistles that I never used and only broke faster. All of us have been spending our energy acquiring shiny toys rather than things we need. In addition, I really do believe that we no longer make anything in this country, and apparently we can't even fix anything that we rely on. We really are in a sorry state of affairs.

Now that everything is crashing, we have stopped consuming entirely. Instead, we all are pulling in our belts, as we now lurch the other way, afraid to spend on anything. There has got to be a better balance.

So, on behalf of Americans every where, please go out and buy something - something with quality and value. Buy something that should work longer than 3 nanoseconds and stimulates the economy (like a house) or a car or even a good washing machine. Don't be a spendthrift like we have been for the last 10 or 15 years, but don't be so frugal that we stall the economy even more!

We have got to get back to some kind of rational thought process, rather than the free fall of panic that we are in right now. So, please take a deep breathe and remain a sensible consumer!

Lise Howe is a full time realtor in the Washington DC metro area and a recovering lawyer with almost 30 years experience in the federal government. She has a son who lives and works in NYC and a daughter who plays ice hockey up and down the East Coast. A standard poodle named Poirot and a husband of 32 years complete the household.  
One of Lise's favorite parts of her career as a realtor is to find the perfect house for a buyer and to find the perfect buyer for her sellers!  The current market is challenging, which makes her job even more special and rewarding.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Ken McCreless
 2 years 321 days ago.
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Right on, Lise! I saw those units at Sears and other places. I thought they looked nice, but didn't see the need for a washing machine with a micro-processor!
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