Why do People Overbuy?

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What is so important to people that they feel the need to overbuy? I understand the retailer’s need to sell as that is how they make their money, but why do we need to possess so many things in our lives? Why is it things make us feel more worthwhile and leave us with the impression that our neighbors are not worth as much as we are? Even small children have the propensity to think that they need everything they can grab, taking away from their fellow playmates. Why are we so grabby? Why do we stuff as many things into a shopping bag that we a can manage when a store is having a special everything-in-the-bag-is-fifty-percent-off-the-entire-bag sale? It takes too much of my energy to store, sort, organize, clean and remember where all of my things are. I am cleaning out! My belief is we should give up the idea of over consuming by spending less and renewing or refurbishing what we already have.
Therefore, the next question is, will spending and even over-spending make you happy? Having enough is a personal decision. There are those who strive to have everything that their friends, family and neighbors have. Their status according to them, raised by the quantity and quality of goods they have in their possession, or so they think. According to Tammy Strobel in the article “But Will It Make You Happy?”, as written by Stephanie Rosenbloom, “The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false.” The economy will not tank if we all used a little more common sense in our purchasing and purchased a little less. Our resources need a break.
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We need to slow down on our consumption. Consumerism has been silently spinning out of control, and since it is not making noise, we are able to ignore it. The fact is people a...

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...om). I agree with that thought, in fact that is the direction my husband and I have been

Page 5 headed for these past few years. Our thoughts are use what you have, repair what you can and purchase what you must. Life is much less cluttered and shopping and paying bills become much less of a burden. When you are able to downsize, purchase less and consume less, then you will find you have time to play and money for things that are more important, perhaps a little extra money and time to take that much-needed vacation.

Works Cited
Livingston, James. "It's Black Friday: Spend for Your Soul". Los Angeles Times. 25 Nov. 2001. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
Rosenbloom, Stephanie. “But Will it Make You Happy?”. New York Times. 08 Aug. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.
Wente, Margaret. “Consumerism is Good for the Soul”. The Globe and Mail. 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.

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