In America materialism is very important to kids of all ages. College age students, like myself, are concerned with diesel jeans, sunglasses, ipods, and what kind of car to drive. The idea in America is buy whatever you can afford and often times buying on credit. Very few young people save money, the tendency is to spend all disposalble income on material goods. I spend a lot of money on going out to new restaurants, but i usually only go clothes shopping once every two months or so. My car is expensive, but I see it as a neccesity.