Even though I am not an American citizen, I am married to one, and so for that reason, we celebrate Thanksgiving twice, once in October and once in November. We also live close to the U.S. border, so it is hard not to notice Thanksgiving, and the crazy retail shopping holiday that is Black Friday. I already talked about Black Friday in a recent post, but I thought it beared repeating: the whole Black Friday phenomenon can be absolutely toxic to someone who has trouble controlling his/her spending. I am absolutely astounded at how much the media-overload seeps into your psyche. Over the last year, I feel like I have been so sure of my need to save and my aversion to spending money I didn't have seemed rock solid. But then the advertising-- print, online, television and radio-- began building a few weeks ago, and reached its crescendo this week. I could feel myself start to crumble, I started coveting all the things I could not afford. Every day a new bundle of flyers would appear in the mailbox, and I could not stop myself from eyeing all the sales. I have not buckled (yet), still resolute from my successful trip to Costco. But I can see how this environment causes people to overspend. Retailers know just what buttons to push in order to get cash-strapped, debt-burdened North Americans to spend money they do not have. It's a minefield out there!
Postscript: Happy to report I am over 200 pageviews for my blog. It may not seem like anything much, but it's a nice milestone for me. I started this blog not really knowing what I am doing (still don't really know!) but I am learning a little more each day, and I am glad to see some people are reading!
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