How Do You Eat an Oreo?

The topic on the radio this morning revolved around the proper way to eat an Oreo. Pretty heady stuff for early in the morning. Apparently, though not surprisingly, there’s a personality test linked to how you eat an Oreo. I missed most of it but caught a couple interesting statements.

1. If you only eat the sandwich cookies and throw away the cream, you’re probably a masochist (you like pain inflicted on yourself)
2. If you eat only the cream and throw away the sandwich cookies, you’re probably greedy and selfish (though apparently good at business – go figure)
   

Not overly profound, but then they gave a little jingle that kids learn. I’ll do my best to paraphrase:

“Twist the top off fast, eat the middle then the rest
‘cause ev’ry little kid knows the cream is the best”

Let me boil that jingle down into a phrase you might have heard before:

Play Now, Pay Later.

Now I love Oreo’s, and I’ve done more than my share of Playing first and Paying later when it comes to Oreos, and there's nothing wrong with that. But that got my thinking, which is a feat that early. In how many other areas of my life do I Play Now and Pay Later? Alas, the ugly answer is that I have adopted this philosophy in a number of arenas such as savings, paying off debt, diet, doing school work, exercise – or lack of, etc. Unfortunately, I’m not the exception. I live with the terrifying reality that I am part of a generation that has not and does not pay its dues. We, as a whole, do not toil, we do not sacrifice, and as such we do not appreciate.

Let me add another tidbit to make this thought more tangible. In 2005 the amount of money the average American saved was -.5% of their income. In other words, we spent more than we made. As a country made up of almost 300 million people we actually went into debt. Sure, our government (almost) always does it, but it’s the FIRST TIME since the Great Depression that we, as people, have spent more than we’ve made. Further, as a developed country, we are alone. We’re at the absolute bottom of the pile for savings versus income.

The figures get much more interesting when broken down by age. Baby Boomers (I think 42 and over) are still saving more than they spend – good for them. However, my generation is spending WAY more than we make using the “No Money Down, No Interest for X Years, No Payments for X Months” approach to purchasing. Now, that CAN be great. Unfortunately, it very frequently spells disaster, and it’s a growing and tragic epidemic.

Now, before the argument is made that we don’t make as much money as previous generations (after factoring inflation), true or not, let me make a point. I know many people my age who are living VERY well who I know are caught in the same trap. We’ve proverbially thrown so many sandwich cookies over our shoulder that they’ve stacked up into a towering pile, and when the tower comes down, we will have to pay.

My recommendation about Oreos? Eat the sandwich cookies with the cream. Embrace and enjoy the entire experience. Exercise moderation - don't go for just the cream (and, while you're at it, don't eat so many Oreos in the first place). Don't inflict needless pain, but don't be greedy and selfish. Dunk 'em, create double-deckers (as long as you eat the extra cookies), do whatever. Sacrifice and appreciate.

Now, some better solutions would be a great way to end this entry. So, give me some comments that include solutions. I can, and am, working on myself to toil and sacrifice so that I will appreciate. You can believe my kids will do the same. But I don’t know what to do about the rest of my peers.