Last Friday, while driving back home from work, I was listening to the radio, a Canadian radio, and immediately I was hooked to the subject.
It was about shopping addiction, mainly, but also about the consequences of such “hobby”, how to recognize it and how to deal with very extreme situations. There were also live contributions from people suffering of this disease.
Yes, like any thing else, when done over the top, it can become a disease/disorder or whatever you wanna call it.
Not all of us like to shop, but there are some people out there, which all they do is talk about it, think about, live for it…. for shopping!
As they explained in the radio broadcast (I couldn’t listen the entire show, as I got home before it was over), most cases of people who have this addiction, it is due to things that happened at younger ages.  As with any addiction, the first step is to recognize you have a problem.
Now, how do we know if we “crossed the border”?
I would say, it depends on how we were raised. In my opinion, if your parents did a good job, independently of the money you earn at adult age, you will be able to manage it, know how to spend it consciously and not let your self “go with flow”. There are people out there, who unfortunately, lost their track.
But if you are still not sure, on the Internet you can find several questionnaires that will help you to identify if you have a shopping addiction or not.
This would have been already interesting enough to listen to, but what really stroke my attention was a testimonial of a man, who lost everything he “had”…
Summarizing it a bit, as a young man, he had a solid career, a nice job, a good wife… the whole nine yards! Along the way, he got a Credit card, which he started to use slowly… First some dinners out, then some fancy pair of shoes, then some big diamond for his wife, then a luxurious car, a big house, and so on… 

At a certain point in time, life changed! Jobs were lost due to illness (both husband and wife), and the only thing that remained were the super huge bills to pay. I won’t continue with this story as I believe almost everyone will know what happened.
The point here is: do people actually know what a credit card means?!… Does the word CREDIT mean something?? 
For my simple understanding, when you take credit, you don’t own the money, you are just borrowing it from the bank (like a loan or mortgage) which you will have to pay, usually by the end of the month, and most banks charge you some interest over that money.
While thinking about this whole subject, I wonder: if we would buy this world and other based on credit cards, would that makes us rich?? Or would we just be “credit rich”??…
Wouldn’t it be better buying only what you can pay in cash (or with debit card)?
I would prefer to be “Cash rich” than “Credit rich”……

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0 Responses

  1. Excellent points! My parent always told me that you simply cannot spend money that you do not have. I have nothing to complain, financially, these days, but still: a credit card just sounds like a bad idea. Plastic money is spent too easily, I think. Also "I couldn't listen the entire show, as I got home before it was over"… the radio in your car does not work when the car is standing still? 🙂

  2. yeah i think i'm back to the comments lol
    about this point of credit card… i think if someone use that, they have to know how used… i dont say for used the credit for every shit that we see one shop, but probably a lot of peopel that need for example one tv (beacause the old tv are broken) if they dont have a credit will never get a new tv, because it's more easy to pay 50€ (for example) per month for one year that 1500€ in one month… but just in case of "emergency"… if you go out spend all of credit… you are very very fuc***
    i see for my parents…if they dont have a credit card… the dont have nothing because its impossible to pay a tv or wash machine or whatever they need for home for cash!
    but i know for a lot of people have a credit card its the same to be a rich… but they aren't…

  3. You know Telma, to me it's very clear: If I don't have money to buy a 1500euros TV, than I won't! Simple as that… Or will save money to get it.
    On the other hand, I do understand your point, because I know the reality.
    But, as long as everyone thinks carefully about the subject, that's what matters.

    And as they say: we're all grown ups…
    🙂

  4. right… no ones dies because don't have a tv…. (and i hope that tv are less than 1500€ lol)
    but imangine… every one needs a fridge right? (i´m just think about things that can broken in my home and i don't have money to buy and i dont have time to save money for that) how one person that receives 435€ per month buy a fridge? well we know that in Portugal we have shop credits interest free like Worten, but in some coutries they don't!
    i don't remember who tell me about a credits in USA… it's quite different. in USA if you don't buy a credit it's because you aren't a good person…LOL
    like you know i worked some years in shops and i remember that comment with people that i gave formation that now the credit cards are for a "poor" people and no for the rich ones….
    but whatever… using or not a credit card we have to know how control our money! we are a broken people LOL

  5. Interesting subject that you brought up Bábi.eheh Well, i think that we're living in a big paradox: in one hand you've to be careful saving your money as best as you can but, on the opposite if everybody, at the same time, save all their money and just buy the essential the economy will fall apart.
    Just a thought.

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Hi, I'm Bárbara!

From PT living in NL

Love to travel & photograph as many memories as possible!