Are you Consumed by Consumerism?

Are you Consumed by Consumerism?

Are your thoughts already turning towards Christmas? Some marketing strategists hope so, as they promote "Christmas in July" spending sprees. What was once a deeply spiritual holiday for some, has turned into a marathon of sales, shopping binges, and retail greed. It is said the vast majority of a store's profits are earned in the holiday season.

Many households go into debt, maxing out their credit cards, and are literally still paying off last seasons purchases when the next Christmas holiday rolls around. Does anyone else think this is nuts besides me? With financial problems being the number one factor in divorces, can this trend be anything other than anti-family?

Personally, I favor spontaneous gift giving, for the sole purpose of delighting someone. I prefer to give and receive homemade gifts. The thought, time and love invested in those items are the real treasure!

Celebrations and gift giving for milestone events are really about honoring the person, a stage in their life, or an accomplishment. It is about human connection. Making memories. Sharing a slice of someone else' life.

Why should those things be overshadowed by commercially produced products, that create debt and cause financial strain?

Advertising is intended to blur the lines between want and need. It is designed to deceive and to infer that the purchase of Product X will make you sexy, affluent, powerful, famous or special.

We may need sneakers, but what we really want is overpriced Nike's and the fame and wealth of their celebrity spokesperson! So, off we trot to the local store, and shell out several times more than the shoes are actually worth.

I read once, that it costs Nike about $7 to make, advertise and transport to retail markets, a pair of their shoes. The other hundred plus dollars you pay are pure profit for the company.
I am all for companies prospering, but that isn't making a profit, that is consumer gouging---in my opinion!

Would you pay $20 for a $2 carton of eggs? Or would you resent or even boycott the store for imposing such outrageous cost on a necessary item?

It is time for us all to make better consumer buying decisions. Let's focus on the real value of what we are buying. And whenever possible, let's buy local, second hand, homemade etc. items.

That way we have money for what we need and want in life, to raise prosperous and healthy families. Why help purchase a fifth vacation home in the Alps for some corporate CEO?

It's food for thought, anyway...


Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com

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