Weekend Warrior Bullshit

Imagine you have a guy who decides he wants to paint portraits. He wishes to paint in the classical realist vein like da Vinci and Rembrandt. So, he goes to the art supply store and he puts down $75 for brushes and paints and whatnot needed for the task. He paints diligently every weekend for a couple of years. Finally, he produces this masterpiece:



At this point, you might tell our painter fellow not to give up his dayjob. He has no talent for the craft, and he is wasting his time. He just isn't a good artist, and he might find better success at something else like music. He might tell you that what he does is "fun." That may be the case, but it is better to have fun at something you do well than to have fun sucking at something. But when I apply these same thoughts to golf, everybody's opinions on the matter changes. Suddenly, the rules that apply to the painter don't apply to the golfer who never breaks 100 while hacking and slicing up the fairway. One such golfer agreed with me on the painter example but went ballistic on the golf viewpoint. Golf is "fun." But it really amounts to the same thing.

There is a reason we encourage the suck ass golfer but not the suck ass painter. This is because it costs more money to be a golfer than to be a painter. You don't see many commercials or TV shows devoted to painting. But golf is mega bucks because equipment for the sport is pricey. So, golf is marketed heavily while painting is not. This is why it is socially acceptable to be a horrible golfer but not to be a horrible painter.

I don't really care about either golf or painting. I do care about the marketing. The purpose of marketing is to create a felt need within the customer. When a customer wants or needs something, they spend money to acquire that something. Nevermind that this something will probably be abandoned once the marketing wears off. Once the money is acquired, fuck you. Good luck pawning those clubs.

This struck me the other day as I saw a billboard near my home that says, "Finance your toys." On it are pictures of a boat, a jet ski, a fourwheeler, etc. Marketers create the felt need, and this particular credit union is willing to supply the funds. Between the marketing and the easy credit, it is easy to understand why people spend so much money on shit they don't need.

For people like me, I see all these other folks with their toys, and I wonder where I went wrong. Why is it that I don't have all these things? I start to think that I don't make enough money, but I find out that these people make the same amount I do or even less. They are simply spenders while I am a saver. They borrow money for toys and struggle to pay for it while I save money and feel good knowing my bills will be paid each month. When I want something like a computer or a Glock, I spend money I earned and saved and pay cash. I avoid debt as much as possible. This is why I am "poor."

All of these things have one thing in common. It is all mental. People succumb to marketing about what the good life is about, and it is always about things. Then, they finance it all and drown in debt for the sake of this good life. I think a better way is to work, save, and enjoy low cost leisure activities. The reality is that the suck ass painter is actually smarter than the suck ass golfer simply because the painter has spent far less on his hobby. But this warped sensibility fueled by marketing and cheap credit makes the golfer look cool while the painter looks dumb.

When I drive on the road on Saturday, I see the idiocy on full display. I see fools on high priced Harleys motoring around living their Easy Rider fantasies. I see lots of boats, jet skis, and four wheelers. I see kayaks on roof racks and mountain bikes and on and on. Yet, this is just the tip of the shitberg as most equipment like this goes unused in garages, storage sheds, and backyards across America as people engage in their real weekend hobby which is watching sports on TV.

I'm kinda nutty, so I recommend people do things on the weekend like work a second job. Instead of spending money on a four wheeler, they should spend it on tools or a new lawnmower and start a side business. It is great to have fun, but it is better to have fun and earn money at the same time. But most people balk at this suggestion. The idea of work being fun is more than they can bear. But it is fun. It is people's mental hangups that make it not fun. As Mark Twain put it, "Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." This is why a guy loves restoring an old car but gets pissy changing the oil on someone else's new car even though he is getting paid to do it.

This is the flip side of the weekend warrior bullshit. It makes work harder to bear because suddenly you have to do it in order to pay for all the "fun" shit you financed. You feel the obligation more acutely than someone who has a cushion of savings. One of the ironies is when the weekend warriors end up envying the simple livers. Being free of debt and financial worry beats having a bunch of shit you can't afford and struggle to pay for. People's idea of the good life is fucked up, and we have the marketers and the banks to thank for that.

Consider these two people:

PERSON A:

-Works two jobs that he enjoys
-Has no debt except a mortgage
-Plays basketball and ultimate frisbee with his friends after work and on weekends
-Is an avid player of chess and is close to being a grandmaster
-Speaks two languages he learned from self-study

PERSON B:

-Works one job he hates
-Has a house payment, car payment, boat payment, RV payment, and motorcycle payment
-Goes hunting, fishing, and riding once in awhile. Takes two weeks of vacation every year. Watches NFL and NASCAR most of the time.
-Plays a round of golf on Saturdays

Which person has the richer and more fulfilling life? Unless you are an idiot, Person A is kicking it, yet his lifestyle costs virtually nothing. This is because he has invested in experiences instead of stuff. When I criticize a weekend warrior, they always counter that the alternative is an empty life. But this isn't true. In fact, they already live empty bankrupt lives. They don't see how they are being short changed by the weekend warrior mentality.

I have a friend who does weekend warrior stuff, but he does it on the cheap. He likes to fish and what have you, but he is smart with his dough. He buys used equipment at a significant discount usually from people who blew their money on shit they couldn't afford. While some guy lets his deluxe fiberglass bassboat collect dust and mold in the garage, my friend is out catching fish in his $500 jon boat. The fish don't know the difference. If you can have the same experience for so little money, why spend the extra money? The answer to that one is simple--STATUS.

Toys are status symbols. You can't brag to your friends about a jon boat. But you can show off the bassboat. It is all just vanity. In fact, I think this status symbology is the primary reason behind the weekend warrior mentality. This is the itch they are trying to scratch. This is why activities that require stuff beat out activities that don't require stuff. It is the stuff that they care about and not the activity. You can rent most of this stuff for very little and still have the same great time. But having a great time is not the point. It is about having great stuff.

I think all of this weekend warrior bullshit is one colossal waste. It is vanity, emptiness, and unsustainability. It is easier to buy stuff than it is to do stuff, and the product is always a counterfeit compared to the real thing. My advice to people is to liquidate all these big toys. Get rid of those payments. If it is something you really love, then enjoy it at a lower cost. But, above all, eliminate the vanity. There is no status or good life in getting your shit repossessed or struggling to pay for it all.

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