By Emi Gruender
A bag of chips here. $3. A claw clip from Target there. $4.99. A Dairy Queen milkshake. $4.79. An overpriced cardigan that I do not need. $26.49. A Starbucks drink. $4.25. Just one more purchase will help. Gaining this random useless item will fill the emotional void that doesn’t seem to have a bottom. Maybe if I drop 50 hard-earned dollars at the mall, my spending will satiate and I’ll be happy with what I have.
I’ve said this to myself over and over again, countless times. Whenever my paycheck comes in, I breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that my expenses are covered for the next month without dipping into my savings. What I don’t see is the steadily increasing amount of money I spend on frivolous things that I’ve convinced myself that I somehow need.
American society nurtures this growth in unnecessary spending, even encourages it. According to the University of Southern California, the average person sees approximately 5000 advertisements per day. Think back to the very beginning of your morning– you check your phone in the morning, there’s advertisements hidden in TikTok videos. When you drive to school or work, there’s billboards on the sides of the road sporting slogans from a delicious burger to seeking salvation from Jesus. When your teacher puts on a YouTube video, Grammarly appears, begging for your yearly subscription and money.
And it works. Every time. According to a separate source, SWNS Digital, a study involving 2000 Americans resulted in an average of ~$200 spent on unnecessary items, with 76% of respondents guilty of making an impulse purchase. I know that I, personally, have made irresponsible and impulsive purchases, including dropping around $60 at Target on items that I did not need.
Shopaholic Syndrome affects almost all of us– the first step towards healing is realizing this. I wish I could end this article on a brighter note, but I haven’t improved myself in a major way. I’ll keep my hands in my pockets when walking through the brightly colored aisles, and keep my money close to my chest. I hope.