Sunday, February 12, 2006 - How to Keep One's Sanity in the US |
I think the simple answer is the ability to say "no".
One reads so much about people being in debt in the US. e.g. credit
card debt, house repossessions, defaulting on car loans, etc.
I'm so fed up of receiving junk mail ever since I moved to the US. Even
before I got my first credit card in my own name (as primary
cardholder), I was receiving unsolicited offers from credit card
providers. I get catalogs for companies I've never heard of too.
I am on the Do Not Call list too and have registered to stop junk mail
but I still get an average of a few catalogs and credit card offers
every week.
I get flyers with my newspapers from local stores declaring a sale
every week. It seems like every week there's an excuse for a sale. At
the moment, it's Valentine's/Easter/St. Patrick's Day themed mostly.
Basically, the message is spend, spend, spend! My response is no, no, no!
My house is only so big. Why in the world would I want to buy
decorations or items with a motif that I can only use for one day of
the year? e.g. Valentine's Day, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day. I have to
find space to store the stuff for the other 364 days of the year.
Christmas is the only exception. At least the decorations can stay up
for a couple of weeks but I don't go any further than decorations.
How many credit cards does a person really need? I don't need more than
two and one's only used to help maintain my credit rating in this
country (I've been here for less than four years).
The consumer living in the States would probably help him/herself a lot
by ignoring the advertising and offers of credit and sales that are
incessant and relentless. If an offer sounds "too good to be true", it
probably is.
I don't feel I need to keep up with the Jones's. Never felt that way in
the UK and still think the same. I don't care what my
neighbors/coworkers are driving/wearing, etc. I don't strive to emulate
anyone else I know. I frankly don't care.
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About Me
Former Londoner, now living in Durham, NC since 2002.
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