Sometimes people take the time to send me articles. And sometimes it’s clear why. Other times, I wonder. Like with this one:
Does this sound like you? When there is a situation in life that you have no control over, you go shopping. You spend money on something you want but don’t really need, which acts as a gateway to alleviating stress. The moment you hand over your cash or credit card in exchange for a shopping bag, you instantly feel a rush of happiness and gloating pride.
Um, no, this doesn’t sound like me, actually.
I suffer from something different. A kind of Scottish Frugality combined with what I call “Polish Wartime Mentality.” We’ll call it SFPWM. What this means is that I privately agonize over every purchase, making sure there’s a very clear return policy before I plunk my card down. I’ll never forget the first time my share of a dinner came to 80 dollars, yes, 80 dollars!! The shock of which not even the many bottles of wine we consumed managed to dull (And who chose those bottles, and how much were they? I ask you, because I can tell you this–it wasn’t me.) I told my mother how terrible I felt and she asked–but did you have fun?
I think it’s bad when your own mother is more concerned for how much fun you had over costs. And so, I am sure there’s a syndrome here for psychologists to examine. Sign me up! I’ll be the first volunteer for the “what to do with young people who act like their grandparents without any justification” study.
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I don’t say we should spent money unwisely, but my father (of the war time epoch) always said money will be here even after we are not. And that’s a fact.
Hi Andrea,
While an 80 dollar dinner would surely send me reeling and screaming about injustice, I am one of those girls who very much subscribe to retail therapy. In fact, since my first job, I’ve found a greater need for shopping. Online. In person. Anything.
But, given the non profit nature of the work I do find myself asking the vital question: Do I really need another pair of ____? Is the justification that I have feet enough to merit the purchase of another pair of heels? Hmmm.
And sometimes, just sometimes..it is…but most of the time it’s just the process of shopping that I enjoy far more than actually giving over my card…
Hanam said, “Money will be here even after we are not.” Actually, I think the reverse is more often true, especially in the age of the American President Obama: “Here we are, but where is the money?” As for our children, they just get to inherit debt, which is the absence of money.
Ooh, I would have trouble with an $80 bill if it was just me, ouch. Spending a bit more on a good pair of shoes or clothing, I don’t mind, but I don’t shop a lot anyway. Any time I do need to buy something out of the ordinary, I’m darned good at finding a discount code or coupon (hello, Entertainment book!) . . . I am the queen of discounts. My friends come to me when they need to find a good deal on something and I can almost always help them out. So I want to get high quality stuff, I just don’t want to pay full price. I like shopping . . . for deals.
Jon — yeah, it’s killing me. Or, I should say, killing my parents and brothers and nephews . . . ugh.