Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kurtz]

Never heard of retail therapy? It feels nice to buy something sometimes, from a book, to a new shirt or whatever, I see no harm in it.

That's quite apart from people spending their entire pay cheque every week on needless stuff, maxing out credit cards and getting woefully in debt to show off. Maybe they have some kind of spending addiction which may be a form of mental illness.

[madoka]

[Forward Observer]

I recently had to deal with something along these lines. I have to be vague here, but I saw firsthand what an addiction shopping was when I had to pack up two homes full of furniture, clothes and other household goods.

The sheer number of extra things just blew me away. I thought we had a lot of stuff growing up in upper middle class, but since my brother and I left home, our mother had taken shopping to a whole new level. With 3-4K a month to blow, she accumulated so many clothes that she needed a huge walk-in closet and three normal sized bedroom closets to hold her clothes. And that's just clothes. I couldn't count the number of shoes she had.

She had 100's of expensive tablecloths, 4 sets of expensive China and probably 5 complete sets of flatware. The list goes on and on and on. How many sets of sheets does a person need? 10? 20? Just because Dillards, Belk, Macys, Sears and JCpenny are having a sale doesn't mean you need another blazer when you have 16 already.


Someone mentioned shopping being an addiction, etc. Absolutely agree, but somehow it's only a really 'bad' thing when a person is borrowing or using credit to shop. If they have plenty of money to shop, then it's okay to spend as much as you want right?

When my mom had her first stroke, she asked for her mail. Someone got it for her and within 24 hours, she was found on the phone ordering stuff out of the catalogs that came.

[seonsengnimble]

Does it count if I buy lots of new clothes just because I'm too lazy to wash and dry my dirty clothes?

I could honestly fill three or four suitcases with my undergarments.

[Janny]

[madoka]

[Steelrails]

Shopping is a fun way to socialize. It mixes both the rational and the aesthetic. It lets you get a good feel for someones tastes and how they perceive things. It lets you be creative. It lets you be sensible at times.

There is something really nice about finding a great gift for someone. It's a way of really sensing what that person is about and what makes them happy.

And yes there are plenty of dangers and so on, but thats how everything is.

[Illysook]

Ha! I just got home from a shopping trip!

I'm too big for most Korean stores, yet too small for the big-euh sizee stores, and I don't like being insulted, so I am trying to do all of my shopping before I leave...although I might be ordering some winter things out of catalogs.

[Forward Observer]

Guilty today.

Belks was having a sale on all their jewelry, so I bought a pair of 1 carat diamond stud earrings for my wife. Our 12th anniversary is this month.

[Harpeau]

I think that shopping can be an addiction for some people. It can be a way of acting out unresolved subconscious issues from the past. In the last 100 years, we've gone from being citizens, to becoming consumers. It's really sad.

A very interesting BBC special documentary The Century Of The Self looks at this. I highly recommend it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dA89CBBOC0
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/century_of_the_self.shtml

Since getting married, I've become much more frugal with money. Experiencing a flood back in 1998 and having many of my possessions destroyed really helped me to change how I perceive "stuff". Today, I've got lots of stuff that I would love to get rid of. It takes up space. It makes me re-evaluate my priorities. Books, healthy food and drink, along with guitars are among a few things that I love.

A really cool thread. Thanks everyone for your insight.

[madoka]

[Jane]

I think two forces are at play.
The first is I think shopping is an addiction when it is irrational, that is, buying things when you know that you can't afford them or don't need them. I think this addiction is usually a symptom of a bigger 'illness', be it self-consciousness, etc.

The second force is marketing. Marketers are evil. Really. They do anything to make you buy things, even if you don't need them. The

The Marketing Paradox: When marketers were asked if they fuel the consumerism that is abundant in today's society, they claim that it's the shopper that makes the ultimate decision to buy, and that marketers are not responsible for people's choices. Why is it then, that marketing is a billion dollar industry, if it's not effective?

Disclosure: I have a book buying addiction, but that's where it ends.

[VanIslander]

[hagwonnewbie]

I like this website:

http://slickdeals.net/

The shopaholics keep this site well stocked with gems for junkies.

[guava]

I'm a big believer in the Consumer Reports approach to shopping. Buyer's remorse is at epidemic proportions. How is spending money on something we'll regret later a good thing? It makes us poorer, and clearly hasn't made us happy. My advice is to have a mandatory waiting period. Wait at least a week after you see something in the store that you want. I guarantee that half the time, you won't go buy it.

Once or twice a year, I look at the things I've spent more money on, and ask myself one simple question: "If I had it to do over again, would I have spent that money?" I call it a 'what the heck was I thinking? audit." Maybe you'll see that you spend a lot on restaurant meals that you regret. I noticed that when I had a regular 9-to-5 job, when I was stressed at work, I'd often buy things I regretted later. It's a way of helping you learn from your mistakes and change your spending behavior.