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Don't Mall Yourself to Debt
by Patricia Mestern |
I overheard a conversation
recently that really hit home because we were cleaning up an estate property. Two women
were sitting beside me in the coffee shop discussing a change of lifestyle. When one said
that she had to clean house and to give "stuff" away prior to her move to an
apartment, the other asked, "Why do we collect all those things in the first place?
It's only going to be thrown out or sold off. No one wants it." Indeed, I wondered,
if people really know why they shop, why they have to possess "things." Do they
know how to curb the impulse to shop? Do they recognize their personal
"triggers?" Malls do and capitalize on the knowledge. Read on.
Recreational shopping is epidemic in North America. Shopping has become the continent's
number one past time. The "button" that triggers one person's mania for
possessing, has no bearing on another's need to own "things." Malls know all the
tricks how to play them. Their advertising is slick and targeted. Few can resist their
siren call, especially at certainly key times during the year - Easter, Christmas,
Mother's Day, Back to School.
North America's traditional main streets are also geared to shoppers, but they usually
don't exude or advertise the "shop til' you drop" image so much associated with
malls. Malls are clever. They try to emulate the main street look - flowers, trees,
fountains, entertainments, a variety of services and retail outlets. As a matter of fact
they go beyond a main street by offering everything under one roof to protect the serious
shopper from the elements. There is one great difference between malls and traditional
main streets. Malls have no permanent residents who live, work and raise families on the
thoroughfare because they are built for serious SHOPPING. They are there to collect cash -
your cash. Malls are recreational "parks" where people are enticed to walk,
talk, eat, and BUY, buy being the key word.
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