Bubble Excesses

Looking back it does not make sense. But at the time having a property make you rich seemed ordinary. Everyone was a financial guru - making their money work for them. So much money was squandered on stuff we will never see again (dinners, old fashions, venti frappes) and other will be looked at reminders of the excess, greed and wastefulness of the era (24X24 travertine tiles).

We will be having multiple what were we thinking moments. Documenting these excesses is a big job. This Columbus Dispatch article titled Joe Blundo commentary: In downturn, some things just don't hold up gives us a good start. Lets take a look -

For a while, wasn't everybody taking out home-equity loans to install wine cellars, indoor waterfalls, 50-seat home theaters and family rooms carpeted with the grass used on the greens at Augusta National?

It all seemed so reasonable when house prices wouldn't stop rising.

Then the bubble burst, banks failed, foreclosures rose -- and five-car garages suddenly seem excessive, unless they house five families.

Related ridiculous item: designer beds for dogs.

At the time it really did seem reasonable to too many of us. That is the sad part.