Storage Wars: The Evolution of Excess

When A&E premiered the first airing of Storage Wars in December 2010, I'll bet the producers thought they would have a smash hit. And they do. The show is now in its fifth season with plans for a sixth, hosting some of the old faces and a few new ones. Do you like the show and, if so, who is your favorite buyer?

Cast of Real Characters

The oldest member of the show, and my favorite, is Barry Weiss, known as "The Collector". He is portrayed as perhaps having the least amount of money to work with, but he's willing to take chances. He searches for that one oddity that will at least break him even. Brandi and Jarrod bring their unusual relationship to the show as "The Young Guns". They always seem like they're on the verge of ending their partnership with continuous disagreements and Jarrod's signature cross-armed stance.

The characters who have made a real impact on the show are Darrell Sheets and Dave Hester. Darrell, "The Gambler", recently brought his son Brandon into the picture and their family is now notorious for two things. Darrel is responsible for the biggest payoff in the show's history. A locker that he purchased for $3,600 ended up containing several Peter Gutierrez paintings Darrell sold for $300,000. Also, inside another purchased locker, the body of a woman was found wrapped in plastic. The previous male owner had killed his wife and subsequently disposed of her body. Wow....

Dave Hester, "The Mogul", made himself into the man you love to hate. With his annoying "Yuuup" and his big white trucks splayed with his name in big letters, he always made a scene. And if all of that flash of ego didn't rub you raw, then his crew of 3 or 4 guys spilling out of the trucks like worker ants should have finished you off. His story, though, ends in the courtroom. Dave has accused the show's production company, Original, of staging fake lockers and providing money for bidders. He was fired from the show and his court battle rages on today.

The crew of Storage Wars represents what can happen in a world of excess. The evolution of consumerism has driven our society to be filled with metal buildings housing a bunch of valuables that have lost their value to its owner. True, there is money to be made through these auctions, since another person's trash is another's treasure. However, I believe that many Americans who own these units have lost sight of some of the core values of life. Not intentionally, though. They just need to be reminded of an old aphorism that dates back nearly 100 years and introduced to the evolution of a new way of thinking.

Stepping Back in Time

The odds that someone reading this article will remember the Great Depression is rather slim, although I am hopeful that the babies from the 20's and 30's are still able to share their stories. With this in mind, there is a lot of information out there about this tough era and what it took to survive. Judy Busk has written an essay for a website called New Deal Network where she recalls the impact the Depression had on her family.
       
          "Gifts were carefully opened, hands delicately loosening the tape so the wrap could be neatly removed and folded to be used again. A ball of string graced our kitchen cupboard; it was made up of hundreds of shorter pieces tied together...Cotton and wool socks were stretched over a worn out light bulb and darned to prolong their use....Printed chicken feed sacks became skirts, flour sacks became underwear."

It was during this era that the phrase, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without", became a household mantra. Although this saying was popularized during World War II, it does have its origins dating back to 1933. Commodities were extremely scarce and so anything at all that was owned by a family had to be stretched to its fullest use and beyond. Judy recounts the story of her mother getting an orange in her Christmas stocking and feeling that it was a deeply treasured gift. In fact, many Christmases didn't have gifts at all. A white-frosted cake would have been the only celebratory piece. It is so neat to read and realize that people appreciated everything, even the smallest of things, that these days we can take for granted. Over time we have lost sight of the lessons of this era and have become slowly blinded into becoming the consumers we are today.

The Rise of Consumerism

After the resolution of World War II, the American economy began its gradual turn around into the wealthy society that it is today. During the 1950's and 60's the concept of "keeping up with the Joneses" became the new trend of American life. It has served as a foundation for the surge of consumerism in this country. Americans are no longer considered to be citizens, but rather, consumers. Purchasing power is what drives our overall economy, however, in the never-ending pursuit of material things, our lives have become cluttered. We buy bigger houses so we can put more stuff in them. Many garages, which were created to house vehicles, now serve as storage units attached to homes. In some surprising ways we too have become the hoarders you can see on popular television. Except in our case, what we are doing is perfectly acceptable by the status quo because the more you own, the wealthier you are. Many times this "wealth" has to be stored somewhere else. There just isn't any more room. It is from this demand that the evolution of the storage units has risen and now permeates our landscape.

The Storage Solution

The history of self storage units has a rather interesting past. According to Ezine articles, the founder of the Self Storage Association, Buz Victor, discovered on a trip to China "that people had been keeping their personal belongings in clay pots for over 6,000 years". The concept took hold much later in Britain, but it really was Buz's entrepreneurial idea that snowballed the idea back in the states. The first facility was established in Odessa, Texas in the 1960's by Russ Williams. He was an avid fisherman and needed somewhere to keep his boats and equipment. He went and purchased several apartments and garages to suit his purpose and because he felt other folks could make use of this type of storage. The units basically sold themselves.

The idea of storage units is a good one with good intentions. It is practically impossible for some people to keep large boats, trailers, RVs, and so forth on their own properties. Our soldiers in the military, too, need somewhere to keep their belongings while off serving our country. In a culture of excess, however, this idea has blossomed into a near epidemic. Rather than get rid of our stuff, we choose to store them out of sight, which eventually means out of mind. Folks are either forgetting to pay the rental bill or realize they simply cannot afford the fees. And this is how the Storage Wars concept has turned into a multi-million dollar industry.

Some Facts in a Nutshell

• There are more than 48,500 storage units nationwide.
• The self storage industry in the United States generated more than $24 billion in annual revenues (2013 - estimate). The industry has been the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate over the last 40 years and has been considered by Wall Street analysts to be "recession resistant" based on its performance since the economic recession of September, 2008.
• The industry pays more than $3.2 billion each year in local and state property taxes.
• There is 78 square miles of available storage space nationwide, which would provide every  household in this nation access to 21 square feet. 
• Storage units have become so popular that many are managed by third-party companies. 

So What Can We Learn?

I think fifteen years into the 21st century most Americans understand that we are a nation of excess. The Internet has given all of us the opportunity to view websites, blogs, and publications that in many ways have exhausted this subject and the many concepts tied into personal finance. At this point you have either decided to change or keep things going they way they always have existed. The real wealth of family and basic necessities is becoming more apparent as we develop into a tightly-knit global community. I see an environment of giving freely to others on Twitter as a way of developing relationships. It is refreshing to be a part of a community that seems to be, for the most part, interested in my well-being and providing help and guidance with minimal strings. These things represent the real value of life, not junk piled up in a storage unit.

Ultimately, the idea of living intentionally is perhaps the best way of breaking free from the bonds of consumerism. This concept was first introduced to me by my wife, and at first I was a little resistant to the idea. Tsh Oxenreider has published two books on simplifying your life and living intentionally. In her first book she really hits the nail on the head with her ideas that purging your house of "stuff" is actually a very liberating experience. I, like many folks, have issues with letting go of things. However, as our family has let go of many things we thought we wanted, we realize that those things were just taking up space unnecessarily. We were spending too much valuable time cleaning up all of the "stuff" that we truly have been able to do without. Let it go already.

Bringing back the Great Depression and World War II aphorism of "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" is a cycle we most certainly need to repeat in America today. In doing so we are able to return back to the roots of filling that inner void - peace with ourselves, our community, and God.

Works Cited

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/a-e-wins-first-round-428079

http:// ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Self-Storage&id=1590718

http://newdeal.feri.org/sevier/essays/frugality.htm

http://www.selfstorage.org/ssa/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutSSA/Factsheet/default.htm

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2005/07/selfstorage_nation.html

Affluenza: Luxuries Become Necessities in Our Obsession for Entertainment

2012 Dodge Caliber Original MSRP $18,000

I recently was introduced to an article in the Washington Post written by Carol Morello and Scott Clement entitled "'Happy Days' No More: Middle-Class Families Squeezed as Expenses Soar, Wages Stall." It is an interesting write-up about a family of five whose household earns $90,000 a year, however, they are struggling to make ends meet. This really surprised me because my family of six earns half of that salary, but we're surviving just fine. There are the ups and downs of financial stresses that come with budgeting for any family, however, struggling on $90,000 seems unfathomable. So I decided to break the article into parts and address each issue not only in the context of the Johnsons' daily life, but also in the context of my family life and those families in my community. My goal is to take a realistic (and many times painful) look at exactly what is going on in America's middle-class families in regards to the meaning of necessity and our obsession to be entertained.

America the Theatrical

Americans must be entertained - it has become a God-given right to be upheld at all costs. Most homes have now become independent personal media centers customed designed with laptops, HD flat screen TVs, real life gaming systems, iPads, iphones, iPods, and I don't know what will be next. Every aspect of our lives has become tainted with this ideology and in many ways we are dumbing down our society because knowledge is in many ways defined either by your skills with technology or how many questions you can answer on trivia night. Furthermore, our customized worlds give us a false understanding of reality and creates a dysfunctional view of the world. People are defining their relationships through their technology (if you don't have what I own, you're not good enough) and they are quickly losing their ability to function socially because many are choosing to completely absorb themselves into their media-created "reality".

The middle class are the hardest hit when it comes to living up to society's expectations and actually being able to do so in regards to material possessions. The lower classes aspire to have the pricey entertainment, however, if it is not achieved, it isn't such a big deal. Remember, you are poor and those who surround you will totally understand. Folks making $50,000+ a year don't get the privilege of forgiveness and sympathetic acceptance by friends and neighbors. The pressure of keeping an image of affluence can force families to make decisions they really cannot afford. And if you could care less what others think, then perhaps your own drive to have the greatest and latest technology and things will still lead to poor decision-making. This is one of the biggest reasons why Americans have been racking up huge credit card debt for decades- they continually choose to live outside their means. And, for many, this is the only way of life they know how to live.

The Johnsons' Story

Scott and Robin are classic examples of upper middle-class living. They own their home, he is an IT engineer, she is an aspiring accountant, and they are raising three children on $90,000 a year. They live outside the Washington area which has a good enough school district that their children do not have to attend private school. They both have struggled in this economy with their jobs because, honestly, there is no job security any more. The ups and downs have forced them to make some lifestyle changes and, according to the Washington Post article, this family deeply suffers from their struggles. The article builds upon this pathos with Scott stating, "'I don't know how the working class, anyone below the middle class, how they can survive.'" They claim to live paycheck to paycheck and now, with the purchase of a new vehicle, they cannot even pay their electric bill. Their daughters, who are by now high school age, are looking at college options. "Robin's advice to her daughters: Study hard enough to get scholarships, because we can't help." For the Johnsons', the solution to their dilemma is simple: "'If we had an extra $60,000 a year, we'd have some breathing room. I'd like to have some extra things. Not just look at them and drool.'" This "drooling" that so many Americans get caught up in is the primary cause of our affluenza problem. We now have justified our actions to satisfy this "drooling" by altering our perceptions of what defines a luxury or what constitutes a necessity.

Maslow's Hierarchy on Needs

In 1943 Abraham Maslow introduced the world to a concept which defined how humans fulfilled their overall needs. He created a model in the shape of a pyramid with the most basic needs (food, shelter, water, air) on the bottom and running up to the top where the self-actualization needs (personal growth, self-fulfillment, personal potential) exist. In a standard representation of any human, the needs are met first on the bottom and then build their way up the pyramid. Really only 1 in 100 people achieve the top level stage, like Ben Franklin did.

With affluenza, the pyramid tends to be upside down. The needs which would normally be at the bottom somehow lose significance and the stress is placed on the upper levels. As an example, the Johnsons own 3 flat screen TVs, 3 iPads, a laptop, at least 3 personal computers, 4 cell phones, and they recently purchased a vehicle that cost between $12,000 and $18,000. They claim that because of all of their expenses that now they cannot pay the electric bill. A bit topsy turvy?

By obtaining material possessions that you cannot afford (usually just to impress) at the expense of the electric bill places their needs on the esteem level over the safety level. Sure, Scott and Robin need their technology to maintain the biological and safety levels, however, all of the other items are luxuries which they could do without. The problem lies in the fact that middle class families truly believe all of this stuff is a necessity. Is it really? It is within this kind of perception that the definitions of necessity and luxury collide and create financial despair. It's easy to blame the economy, inflation, and rising costs. But perhaps it simply comes down to money management. Not the way Mr. Obama defines it. More like Suzy Orman.

A Look at the Figures

I thought it would be a good idea to run a comparison of the actual figures it takes to run the Johnsons' household versus my own. But first, to give you a little context of how my family lives.... We embrace the couponing and money saving concepts of Crystal Paine (Money Saving Mom) and others like her. We also apply many of Dave Ramsey's guidance principles (Gazelle Budgeting) on money management. Basically, we try to live within our means and make good money decisions. My wife does a wonderful job of managing our income using a budget plan. We rarely eat at any kind of restaurant, choose not to have cable (instead the kids watch Netflix or DVDs from the library), use what we do have to its fullest extent, and keep one another from jumping onto the trend wagon. We could care less about keeping up with the Joneses and are very happy to be blessed with the richness of our marriage, family, community, and activities we do together to make memories. We believe that the reason so many families struggle in this country is simply because of a lack of knowledge on how to manage the money you do earn and what in reality is a necessity. Yes, times are tough. No doubt about that. But when your priorities are skewed, life becomes impossible.

St. Louis, Missouri and Culpeper, Virginia are somewhat similar in their cost of living according to (http://www.areavibes.com/cost-of-living-calculator/culpeper,+va-vs-st.+louis,+mo/). Overall it is 14.2% cheaper to live here than in the Johnsons' neighborhood. However, by looking at the expense breakdown, we find some surprising results. In Culpeper the housing expenses far exceed the costs in St. Louis - a whopping 44%. The Johnsons, however, were able to refinance their home which now brought their mortgage down to the same amount my family pays here. All of the other cost categories are either about the same as St. Louis or lower. True, home insurance and electric bills are higher in Culpeper, but again, they live in an area where their children attend public schools. Schools in St. Louis are terrible and so our family has the huge burden of monthly private school costs. (By the way, we're still raising 4 of our 6 kids, 3 go to private school). Yet, we survive just fine on half of the Johnson's earnings. So, if we were to adopt the Johnson's financial solution, we could continue to live the way we do, and then have another $100,000 left over each year to invest or whatever we wanted. Intetesting contrast, isn't it?

Concluding Thoughts

From reading the Washington Post article, I do believe the Johnsons are good people who honestly think they are struggling, and in many ways they are. No one is perfect and I know my family falls into the financial traps occasionally. It's not easy to live within your means when the status quo screams at you to join in the fun and mocks you when you don't. Money management skills are not taught in our elementary and secondary schools. When people think about a course on this subject they envision someone on a stage with a microphone hanging from his/her ear preaching to them like an evangelist. Our country is solely driven by the dollar and most companies do not want you to properly handle your money because that means less for them. Entertainment has become a number one priority. I might even suggest that it has replaced the role of God in many families' lives. But then again, money is a god or idol too, right?

The tough part to chew on is the fact that Americans have altered their perceptions of what is a necessity and what is a luxury. In my own community I see lots of examples of this behavior. One person goes to the local pantry in order to provide food for the family. That same family is sitting on the couch watching a TV that is plugged into a cable service costing $160 a month and complaining there isn't any food to eat. Another person has had the electric shut off in the apartment for two months, but still grocery shops at Whole Foods Market (currently I work in the culinary industry and we call that store "Whole Paycheck").

The newest trend I'm seeing are the families who make 6-digit salaries but claim they struggle just as much as a family that makes $20,000. They eat fast food 2-3 times a day, nearly every day. They go on shopping sprees every weekend to purchase anything from shoes to the latest phone, TV, or gaming system. They take expensive vacations regularly because these are the only times the family can connect, never mind whether or not they can afford it. Some of these families have moved back in with their parents just to maintain their lifestyles. And then when it comes to true medical or tuition expenses, they scream poverty. These folks truly believe they are struggling just like the rest of us because their concepts of necessity and luxury are deeply skewed. Managing the blessings that you do have is the key to a happy life. Don't let the status quo tell you otherwise.

What do you think?