you are a target market

i am a product of consumerism and it disgusts me. i was thinking about this today when i was going through all my email and it was advertisement after advertisment for christmas presents and gift cards. this post was originally going to be about how silly it is that every company thinks that their product is the best christmas present and a rant against christmas spending.. but then i thought.. wait a minute, i am totally guilty of this too. probably not nearly to the extent of other americans - but it's there, and not just around christmas time either.

i have gone into debt buying new furniture and clothes and a car and god knows what else. hell, i had to get a second job to pay for it. i get on my high horse about the marketing and gluttony and materialism, but although i try to support local business more than chains and try to buy most things on sale, i still find myself spending $100 at target on things i don't really need. or buy new clothes even though i have a ton in my closet because i was influenced by an episode of "what not to wear". i feel a bit hypocritical.

there is a healthy balance that i just need to find. i think i've been close to it, actually, since realizing that i need to save money. it's all about distinguishing what you want from what you need. this is a hard thing to distinguish when you are bombarded with ads and commercials convincing you that their product is all you need to be happy.

i want to live this perfect, healthy lifestyle - be in control of my finances, not put crap into my body, pollute less.. but it's really, really difficult for me to do right now. and it all boils down to how many (or how few) $$$ i have in my pocket.