People today are not just consuming goods—they're devouring them at an alarming rate, Rabbi Shmuley says. He is concerned about the effect materialism has on children and talks about teaching your teens to be smarter with the money they spend.

The recent global economic crisis demonstrates to people that their current way of living is not sustainable—it's not good for people to always want things so much, Rabbi Shmuley says. It's time to stop and reassess our values, he says. "We feel a hole at our center that we try to fill by buying things and accumulating more, and it never gets full," Rabbi Shmuley says. "This isn't just an adult problem—teens and kids are increasingly materialistic and always want the newest things that their friends have."

Six ways to help your teen save money

Today's Shmuleyism:
"The global economic crisis has a silver lining—the fact that we need to teach our kids to be less materialistic. Our kids should not be raised as mini-consumers. We need kids to have a sense of purpose—who prefer hiking to shopping, reading to watching and conversing to consuming."