The Perils of Shopping

Flat 50% off! Flat 30% off! Upto 60% off.. Sale sale sale..Every retail store, every branded store is flaunting highly irresistible discounts these days. Do you fall prey to these predatory brand sales or do you desist? Isn’t it hard to shut out the temptation of buying new clothes or new accessories? You want to shop till you drop?? After all in this age, it’s a very apparent fact that we pay a lot of attention to looking smart, looking good. We are a brand conscious generation. Minimalism I feel is absent.

Not being preachy, but just being on the level of sharing my personal thoughts I jotted down certain points which lead us to buy stuff

Impulsive buying. “That silver shiny bag caught her eye and she had to buy it” impulsive buying, buying without having any utility. Reminds me of Rebecca Bloomwood in “Confessions of a shopaholic” 🙂 The girl in the green scarf had to buy the green scarf 😀 Impulsive buying is nothing but unplanned buying. It is buying without understanding the need for that specific commodity or clothes or accessories

Getting bored. In a city like Bangalore, where we do not have many options of killing time, we end up buying stuff every weekend, the key is to ask “Do I really need it?” Rather than merely  shopping as a filler.

Having Surplus Pocket Money. Instead of splurging that surplus moolah in a inutility, invest the sum elsewhere for better returns

Obsessed with clothes/accessories etc I have observed some peoples’ obsession with clothes.I had this friend once, she would shop to her heart’s content and then every single dress she had bought would be seen lying around in dirt after a week or two. What a shameful sight it would be. Certainly one which made me think there are so many people in our country below the poverty line. For Gods sake if you don’t want to use the dress anymore, donate it at least and do a good deed.

Credit Cards. I like to keep just one Credit Card while I have seen many people having as many as 7 to 8 cards. Gosh! Plus the credit limit on each card gives such a bad illusion to you that you can just go on being a spendthrift. Another friend of mine every month used the full credit limit on her card and when I asked her about how she repaid the due amount, she revealed that she paid interest :O I was just dumbfounded. Interest on the credit card might seem a small liability but it might eat out on your finances in the long run. So one should beware of the lurking danger of credit cards

Being shopaholic is mostly associated with women. It gives some women a high to shop even for little accessories. That pair of chic heels or a jazzy top 🙂 might lead to soaring levels of endorphins(feel-good hormone) While for some shopping is a hobby, it does have its own perils and needs to be kept in check.

And also not the forget the various brands market themselves. Levis for example, has introduced a scheme wherein you can buy a certain pair of jeans in EMIs 😛 Now isn’t that a good way to lure potential shoppers?

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like. ~Will Rogers

What are your takes on being a shopaholic?

5 Lame excuses for saying no to V-Day

Everybody celebrates valentines day for fun.But valentines day has certain social,economic,environmental effects on this planet.Being a responsible human being its my moral duty to investigate and calculate those effects.

Global Warming – Do you know that Valentines day contribute to global warming ? 100 normal candles produce as much heat energy as a 70 watt bulb.Now imagine how many couples in the world will be having romantic candle light dinners and thats equivalent to lighting millions of electric bulbs on a single day.Do you want to commit such crime?So say not to V-Day and be a responsible citizen of mother earth.I have ignored in my calculation the body heat generated from the extra hugs and kisses on the same day.

Pollution – V-Day contributes immensely to air pollution.Most people go out on this very day and that increases traffic congestion in the city.Increase in traffic is one of the major cause of air pollution mainly due to emission of CO2.Exposure to such poisonous gases is also harmful to human beings.Air pollution is already a burning issue in our daily life.Nobody will like to unnecessarily increase the amount of these poisonous gases in air.So say no to V-Day and stay at home.

Economic Effects – V-Day creates an abnormal increase in the demand for  roses.Sudden rise in demand of this not so sought after commodity causes an abnormal increase in demand.Finally leading to rise in price as the stock is limited.This anomalous change in the demand curve may cause havoc effects in our current volatile market.Dont know if it can bring another recession as these calculations are beyond scope.So better play it safe and for God’s sake don’t buy roses.Going a step ahead don’t buy any expensive gifts as we are not ready to face another recession.

Malnutrition – Eating out on V-Day is a general practice.We find people swarming into the popular restaurants to have mouth-watering preparations.Living in a third world country and spending on a costly food doesn’t look rational when 500 million people are suffering from poverty and malnutrition.Colossal wasteage of food in restaurants is one of the many causes of  world hunger problem.If you don’t want to intensify the problem don’t eat out.

Save Trees – Another very popular gesture of V-Day is sending cards.Do you know producing one ton of paper requires 2-3 times its wight of trees.When everybody is so actively protesting cutting of trees you will not like to cut down another tree to give your loved one a beautiful paper card.By not sending a card you are saving a tree from being cut down.Dont send paper card.Dont send an e-card too because that involves electric energy and don’t know what problem it will hit on.

Having said these I leave it to you to decide which path to choose.Hope the above piece of wisdom will work as food for thought and keep you all busy till 14th Feb.Happy Valentines Day.