Why do clothing and department stores have so many sales throughout the year? Have you ever given it much thought? Have you considered that maybe they want to get us addicted to shopping?
Sales create a rhythmic cycle--buy, wait, buy, wait, buy. Sales get us accustomed to spending money--and even looking forward to it! We're going deeper into debt when we could be paying off debt and investing in our own financial independence.
Some of our purchases satisfy us. Others just become clutter to trip over. We usually don't know which purchases we will like and use until after we buy them. That makes shopping a form of gambling.
But we lose even when we win. How much do you spend a year in credit card interest? How much a month? Have you ever sat down and calculated? Do it now, then continue reading.
That's a lot of money, isn't it? Think of what else you could buy with that money.
To make matters worse, you pay that interest every year. You save N% once during the sale, but spend X% every year in credit card interest. For example, if you buy something at a department store at 40% off, but put it on your 22% department store credit card, then pay only the minimum monthly payments (often just $7 plus interest), you are only saving 18% (that's 40% off minus 22% interest) the first year. Then, if you buy more in future sales (so that you never pay off the card balance), you will pay the 22% interest again next year!
No wonder you're having difficulty making ends meet! Savings are not savings when you buy on credit--unless you really do pay it off in a month or two--which you never do, if you're like me and so many other people.
We are a nation of gamblers, dreaming that our next purchase will make us happy, then living in fear when the bills come, especially when we are inevitably unemployed someday. (And we teach this gambling to children, especially at Christmas and on birthdays.)
When we miss a payment or two--which is also inevitable for a lot of people, despite our intentions--we get sacked large fines, and the interest rate goes up. Where are those savings now? Items bought with low interest terms suddenly have to be paid off at high interest rates, which is harder to do!
It's better to wait until we can afford something, then pay full price in cash. Look at all the benefits! We...
1) buy less
2) gamble less
3) own and maintain fewer possessions
4) seek happiness outside of material things
5) learn to make wizer choices
6) get more fresh air (if we go to the park instead of the mall)
7) feel more content with life (because we desire fewer things)
8) have more money for travel and fun activities
9) stop being slaves at the mercy of banks
Don't even look at the sales flyers! Throw them away as soon as you get them! Otherwise, you will desire more clutter instead of more life.