Monday, July 11, 2005

malls: bad place to be with available credit

How is it one can think rationally and modestly during the week - brown bag the lunch, take the shortest route to save on gas, refill the same Deer Park bottle until the label starts to get funky - and then once the weekend hits, you're like Rockerfeller on a spending spree at the mall?

It seems that lately, when we go to the mall, the family has no problem dropping a few hundred here and a few bucks there. Even the baby gets in on the action. We'll stroll into Baby Gap and her little hands reach out and I swear grabs THE most expensive little outfit she can get her mitts on. And it doesn't stop there ... then she'll look at shoes and I honestly believe she is looking for the best match. WTF?!?!

Geo can not go near a Camera Shop without drooling over the latest SLR digital cameras. Ever check the price on one of those little gems? Asking him to consider a little pocket digital and he looks like a little boy who was just told he can't have X toy in aisle three at Toys R Expensive. He equates the pocket digitals to the 110's of yesteryear. Can't say I blame him - pocket digitals are on there way to becoming the new fodder at the front of checkout lines in Wal-Mart.

I am not immune to the whole buying hype. Macy's? Open a credit line to get that extra 15%? Sure, why not! Oh, and look at this suit and those shoes! They're how much? And I get the extra 15%? Ya-hoo!! Geo, see anything you want? Oh - shame.

And then the hour comes when the merchants of the mall say,

"Get the hell out of here! We want to go home sometime tonight!"

Alas, the baby didn't get her outfit. Geo didn't get his camera. Geo and I did get titanium wedding bands for our big day. I got my suit, my shoes, and my Nintendo DS (my birthday present).

I know I'll be gripping my heart and doing my best Fred Sanford impersonation when THAT bill comes in!

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