The end of the shopping spree

While reading my current issue of Newsweek, I came across this article, “The End of the Shopping Spree, RIP.” Predictably, with the downturn in the economy, I’m not the only one cutting back on expenses. In fact, several chain retailers have announced that they will be closing stores across the country—the effect is that far-reaching.

 

So how did we as a nation go from rampant consumerism to where we are today? The rise of consumerism in the ‘80s can be attributed to easy credit, rising home values, the ubiquitousness of credit cards (how many do you have?), and the false sense of security the thriving economy brought to us all. I think, too, that my generation (Gen X) is addicted to instant gratification—when I want something, I want it now! (My parents taught me right, though–doled out a weekly allowance, taught the value of a dollar, worked hard, saved and retired in their mid-50s. I’m not sure what happened to me!) You can see what that attitude did to my personal debt load. Ugh.

 

And look where we are now–in the midst of war, record-breaking gas prices, downward spiraling home values, jobs outsourced to other countries and foreclosures. It’s a scary time. And a wake up call for all of us.

 

Maybe this downturn in the economy is a good lesson for us. Maybe it’ll take us back to the values of our grandparents—those who lived through the Depression and learned to make do, recycle, and save on a regular basis, no matter how small the amount. You think?

Adding up expenses

Out of curiosity, I just added up some of my expenses for the month of March (these are taken from my debit card statement–I hardly spend hard cash anymore). I spent:

$154.51 on eating out
$129.87 on gasoline
$209.31 on clothes

Now the commentary:

Eating out: I don’t think this total is too bad. After all, I said I wasn’t going to deprive myself. If you divide the total by 4, the weekly average for eating out is $38.63. I usually treat myself to Subway at least once a week, and I dined out with friends a few times. Eating out is a form of entertainment for us, and I’m not going to give up hanging out with my friends!

Gasoline: I’m lucky that I live very close to my workplace; otherwise, this total would be much greater! When the weather gets warmer, I’m going to try to ride my bike to work–it will be great exercise and good for the planet (and the pocketbook)!

Clothes: OK, I did say that I was going to buy a few things for spring. Last weekend I went to the mall and bought a sweater, a tank top and a blouse from the Gap, and a pair of trousers and a necklace from Banana. Knowing that I was spending money that would come out of my checking account, I was much more deliberative than I usually am when I purchase clothes. Of course, I could have spent a lot more (like on $88 cardigans at JCrew), but I refrained.

No April Foolin’!

I’m down $2,569.52 since I started this blog at the beginning of January! Of course, it helps a lot that I paid $1000 toward my Sears bankcard with the money I got from my tax refund. My short-term goal is to have my balance below $20K at the beginning of June. That should be very doable. Looking over my stats, I accumulated $255.26 in interest this past month–that totally sucks. That’s only about $9 less than February, but that big payment to Sears should help (hopefully) a lot.