…to be a consumer!
I don’t enjoy shopping, and it isn’t my hobby, like some bizarre stereotype perpetuated by hollywood and women’s magazines.
But sometimes I get the itch for the bright lights and shiny newness of stores, malls, movie theaters, and places where I can spend a little money on something that will make me feel brand new.
But I must fight the feeling for two main reasons:
- Epic waste of money, which I’m not jumping into piles of like a child into leaves on an autumn day
- I feel like a dirtbag supporting stores that I know take advantage of their employees and get their stock from sweatshops, and these are mostly the stores I can afford to shop at.
“BUYING IS MORE AMERICAN THAN THINKING, AND I’M AS AMERICAN AS THEY COME.”
Andy Warhol said that, not me. I actually like thinking! How does a thoughtful person feed the hunger to buy? Ideas:
- Grocery shop and buy something indulgent (fancy salt, the more expensive cabbage?!)
- Go to the movies!
- Watch an episode of Sex and the City. Those women live with a disregard for financial security so preposterous and extreme you can feel it vicariously.
- Buy something from a thrift shop.
- Buy someone a present. This is a great secret. I Christmas shop year round! And I’m usually done by November.