As the United States’ debt has increased in the past years, it has been at its highest recently. As of right now the debt is about 13 trillion dollars and each citizen owes about 43 thousand dollars (U.S. National Debt Clock. (2010). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from U.S. National Debt Clock: http://www.usdebtclock.org/.) A lot of the debt has to do with war, but Americans have been spending more money than what they actually have as well. With credit cards being so easy to receive people believe that they can shop as much as they would like, but they do not realize that they have to pay them back with interest as well. Shopping has become one of peoples’ favorite pastime activities and this can lead to bad problems including debt, having clusters all over their homes among other things (It was our National Pastime. (2008). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from The Independent UK: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/it-was-our-national-pastime-ndash-but-now-shopping-is-just-so-over-1026305.html).
Addiction to shopping can be caused by different reasons. It can also start at a young age. There are young children that receive allowances that they spend right away while there are other children that save their money and try to put it to good use later on. While one can see the difference between the young ones that save money from the ones that do not save money one does not actually take it into consideration that there is a possibility that one (the one that does not save money) might become an addict to purchasing things later on. The child might not even realize it themselves and later on they will keep on buying more and more things. As they grow older their purchases will also grow but it will be in greater amounts of money and they might not even realize it. The credit card companies make it easy for everyone to receive a credit card. Before anyone can realize it the young teens that turn of age to apply for a credit card will be getting their credit cards.
Another thing that can cause an addiction to shopping is depression (Are you addicted to Shopping? (2007). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Health Central: http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/18/17742/addicted-shopping.) Although this statement may sound a bit odd it is very true. There are a lot of people out there that suffer from depression and they feel the need to shop to fill in the empty gap they feel because of their depression. Others think that if they shop it will make them happy. This may be true but this happiness is only temporary and once the effect wears off their depression might worsen. Some people might see their shopping as a way out of the depression but they do not realize that their shopping addiction might cost them more than they expected. If they start using their credit cards or get loans they will have to pay off the amount that they used plus the interest on the money that they borrowed.
While addiction to shopping may come at a young age for some it might start at a later age for others. When you step into a high school you see teens all over the place with the latest gadgets for school like iphones, ipads, and blackberry devices. Along with these great gadgets you will also find people wearing the latest clothing from Abercrombie and Fitch, Coach, Hollister, and Dooney & Bourke, among other brands. This leads to another type of addiction to shopping but this one is just to fit in with everyone else. This is also not a good thing because before you know it you have teenagers asking their parents for great amounts of money just so they can fit in with their friends. Anyone can see that as soon as they walk in to a high school, and sometimes it feels like you have just walked into a fashion show because everybody has just about everything that you would see in one of these events. Although the teenagers might not see a problem with this it will be something that will escalate in the near future if they continue at the pace they are going.
Shopping as stated before can cause great amounts of debt if it becomes an addiction. If it is done in moderation and with the intents of paying off the credit cards, if applicable, it can help out the economy and spread money around. If one uses credit cards and isn’t aware of the facts and risk one might have it wouldn’t be a good thing to have a credit card to begin with. There are a lot of useful resources that one can find to be aware and avoid being put in a horrible position due to the credit card debt. Even now the universities have workshops and web pages to help students avoid credit cards by showing helpful tips to being safe from the cruel thing credit cards can be (Credit Card Awareness. (2010). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Eastern Arizona College: http://www.eac.edu/campus_life/Student_Handbook/credit.shtm.) Some things that a credit card owner should take into consideration is the grace period, which is the amount of time the credit card company will let you pay off your credit card without having to pay interest. Another thing to look at is the interest rate that the credit card company will be giving you; one should look for a low interest rate rather than a really high one. Some credit cards, like the one Abercrombie and Fitch offers, have a very high interest rate (Abercrombie & Fitch Credit Card. (2003). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Abercrombie & Fitch: https://onlineaccess.mycreditcard.cc/abercrombie.)
Although there are various things that can trigger the addiction to shopping there are also other things that can prevent one from falling into the crazy idea of shopping constantly. For example, instead of shopping one can spend more time studying for an important exam or for a big speech that will be coming up soon. There are a lot of students that would much rather be walking around the mall looking for things to shop but a lot of the times people need to realize that education is one of the most important thing one can buy rather than buying that really cute purse or those great looking shoes that one has been dying to purchase.
Another thing one can do is get a job. This will not only prevent one from shopping but it will also put money in ones’ pocket. It is also a great way to help one get out of depression. The economy isn’t at its greatest right now and it is hard to find jobs but if one finds a job that they enjoy it will be a great thin g to conquer because instead of spending time walking around the stores looking for things to buy one will be to o focused trying to do ones job. Another thing would be to find a healthy hobby. One example would be walking around the park instead of at the mall. This way one will not be tempted to walk inside a store because it has sale signs on the windows.Another great thing one can do to avoid being shopaholic as some people call it is to volunteer. It is always a great thing to volunteer especially if it benefits other people as well as one. There are a lot of great organizations out there like Girl Scouts that are always welcoming new volunteers to help them reach their valuable goal in their organization (Become a Girl Scout Volunteer. (2010). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Girl Scouts: http://www.girlscouts.org/for_adults/volunteering/.)There are a numerous amounts of organizations that one can be a part of and they are a great part of one’s community.
Reference Page
U.S. National Debt Clock. (2010). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from U.S. National Debt Clock: http:///www.usdebtclock.org/.
It was our national Pastime. (2008). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from The Independent UK: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/it-was-our-national-pastime-ndash-but-now-shopping-is-just-so-over-1026305.html.
Are you addicted to Shopping? (2007). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Health Central: http://www.healthcentral.com/depression/c/18/17742/addicted-shopping.
Credit Card Awareness. (2010). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Eastern Arizona College: http://www.eac.edu/campus_life/student_handbook/credit.shtm.
Abercrombie & Fitch Credit Card. (2003). Retrieved 25, 2010 from Abercrombie & Fitch: http://onlineaccess.mycreditcard.cc/abercrombie.
Become a Girl Scout Volunteer. (2010). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Girl Scouts: http://www.girlscouts.org/for_adults/volunteering/.
Girl Scouts Perform Energy Audits, Prove Their Value. (2008). Retrieved October 25, 2010 from Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11/girl-scouts-perform-energy-audits.php.
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