Magazine - Year 2016 - Version 2
Media: TEXT
Language: ENGLISH
Language: ENGLISH
Shopping is an Art
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Shopping is a part of our daily life. However,
sometimes this ends up being an addiction. We
then go on a shopping spree even when we do
not require anything and tend to splurge our
hard-earned money. Hence when we step out
of the house, we need to ask ourselves whether
there is anything that is really required for
ourselves or for the family or we are
embarking on the journey of frivolous
shopping. There are many stories of people
with shopping addiction.
One of the most popular stories is that of London-based Emma. She was so crazy of shopping that she ended up with more than 40 lakh pounds in debt in order to satiate her shopping addiction. She loved shopping right from her childhood. Her craze for shopping kept increasing as she grew up. Until 2011, she kept shopping for about 2000 pounds every month. This means that she spent rupees 2 lakh every month in buying clothes, shoes and bags. She tried hard to stop herself but barely could. With this rate of spending, 41-year old Emma accumulated a debt of 40 lakhs pounds. Her house was confiscated because of this debt and she is still in debt as of today.
Because of this debt, she and her husband are presently living in her mother’s house. On asking her about her addiction, Emma says that every time she goes out shopping she questions herself if whatever she is about to buy is required or not. But her mind concocts some or the other argument to prove that she does need those things.
She wore her dresses just once and bought new ones again. She said that she always got what she asked for right from her childhood. Hence her habits and stubbornness increased by the day. The situation now has got so critically serious that her family is getting her treated by a psycho-therapist. In fact, many people start doing shopping in order to get out of their boredom or depression or loneliness. Women who stay at home are more prone to this addiction.
Experts advise that shopping be made an art and not an addiction. It’s very true that if shopping is done wisely, it can become an integral part of art of living. Those who want to learn this art must firstly understand the requirements of themselves and their families. Once the requirements are clearly understood, it becomes very convenient to decide what is essential and what is not.
In order to avoid meaningless shopping, one should go for shopping with a plan in mind. It requires that a shopping list be prepared beforehand and a budget arrived at so that one can stay within a stipulated budget. If they see their shopping getting out of their budget, it is time to review the shopping list and remove those items that are not required. In this way, they can achieve both objectives - shopping as well as fulfilling their family needs. It is seen that many people prefer popular branded stuff in big shopping malls. While it is lot of fun shopping in the malls, very soon we lose the habit of buying better products that are available elsewhere at lesser prices.
t is not wrong to check out 2-3 different shops or websites while looking out for a product that is priced better and is of better quality too. By doing this, we not only get a better deal but also feel happy with our purchase. There is a trend now for smart shopping. So, one has to develop the habit of comparing the prices of the products beforehand. There are many websites on the internet that assist you in comparing the price of any product in the market across different sellers with a click of a button. It is advised to check for the product you wish to buy from many websites. You can refer to websites like www.mysmartprice.com, www.compareraja.com, www.pricedekho.com .
The coupons and deals that we get in these websites help us save money. Some websites give promo codes and coupons that give additional benefits. If you are not getting a coupon for your preferred website, you can look up for it in google. Also there are many websites that provide coupons, promo code and offer deals. You can register at these websites free. They also keep sending emails related to their new offers. Most importantly, it can be called smart shopping when you buy something only when needed and not because you have a coupon for it!
You can also look up in social media for buying information. Almost all the online stores have their social media account. They are active on Facebook and twitter too. If we ‘like’ their pages, we could be entitled to some offers as well. There are huge web stores like Flipkart and Amazon whose apps help us get deals from different sellers. In addition to the deals on the website, there are additional benefits given after installing the mobile app. This convenience is also provided for buying literature of Param Pujya Gurudev through awgp e-store.
Ensure while shopping that your payment option is always through cash or debit card. Using credit card for a long shopping list can create a hole in your pocket. Financial experts say that the credit card limit is far more than the cash we hold. This results in buying more than what you can afford. It is often seen that we overshoot our budget while shopping with credit card. Cash payment restricts you to stay within limits.
There is a big attraction to the word ‘sale’ while shopping. If you cannot resist the attraction, you end up overdoing your shopping. The sellers use psychological methods to exploit the people. We should protect ourselves from these by searching for counter-psychological methods. It is best for us not to get caught in the snare of ‘free’ stuff while buying things. In the pursuit for freebies, we end up making the wrong choices of products. Similarly, we should be cautious to check for the expiry date while buying anything. Also, remember to take the bill and the manuals related to your products.
The most important thing is that we should do as less shopping as possible. It is best to decrease our requirements than fanning the fire of desires. The money that we save should be used for helping and serving the needy and in social welfare activities. We should put our money to alleviate the suffering and pain of our fellow beings. Always bear in mind that money is for living a simple and noble life and not for luxury and showoff. Hence we should all learn to put our money where ‘life’ is at stake. In addition to the art of shopping, we should also learn the art of earning punya or goodwill for our noble deeds.
One of the most popular stories is that of London-based Emma. She was so crazy of shopping that she ended up with more than 40 lakh pounds in debt in order to satiate her shopping addiction. She loved shopping right from her childhood. Her craze for shopping kept increasing as she grew up. Until 2011, she kept shopping for about 2000 pounds every month. This means that she spent rupees 2 lakh every month in buying clothes, shoes and bags. She tried hard to stop herself but barely could. With this rate of spending, 41-year old Emma accumulated a debt of 40 lakhs pounds. Her house was confiscated because of this debt and she is still in debt as of today.
Because of this debt, she and her husband are presently living in her mother’s house. On asking her about her addiction, Emma says that every time she goes out shopping she questions herself if whatever she is about to buy is required or not. But her mind concocts some or the other argument to prove that she does need those things.
She wore her dresses just once and bought new ones again. She said that she always got what she asked for right from her childhood. Hence her habits and stubbornness increased by the day. The situation now has got so critically serious that her family is getting her treated by a psycho-therapist. In fact, many people start doing shopping in order to get out of their boredom or depression or loneliness. Women who stay at home are more prone to this addiction.
Experts advise that shopping be made an art and not an addiction. It’s very true that if shopping is done wisely, it can become an integral part of art of living. Those who want to learn this art must firstly understand the requirements of themselves and their families. Once the requirements are clearly understood, it becomes very convenient to decide what is essential and what is not.
In order to avoid meaningless shopping, one should go for shopping with a plan in mind. It requires that a shopping list be prepared beforehand and a budget arrived at so that one can stay within a stipulated budget. If they see their shopping getting out of their budget, it is time to review the shopping list and remove those items that are not required. In this way, they can achieve both objectives - shopping as well as fulfilling their family needs. It is seen that many people prefer popular branded stuff in big shopping malls. While it is lot of fun shopping in the malls, very soon we lose the habit of buying better products that are available elsewhere at lesser prices.
t is not wrong to check out 2-3 different shops or websites while looking out for a product that is priced better and is of better quality too. By doing this, we not only get a better deal but also feel happy with our purchase. There is a trend now for smart shopping. So, one has to develop the habit of comparing the prices of the products beforehand. There are many websites on the internet that assist you in comparing the price of any product in the market across different sellers with a click of a button. It is advised to check for the product you wish to buy from many websites. You can refer to websites like www.mysmartprice.com, www.compareraja.com, www.pricedekho.com .
The coupons and deals that we get in these websites help us save money. Some websites give promo codes and coupons that give additional benefits. If you are not getting a coupon for your preferred website, you can look up for it in google. Also there are many websites that provide coupons, promo code and offer deals. You can register at these websites free. They also keep sending emails related to their new offers. Most importantly, it can be called smart shopping when you buy something only when needed and not because you have a coupon for it!
You can also look up in social media for buying information. Almost all the online stores have their social media account. They are active on Facebook and twitter too. If we ‘like’ their pages, we could be entitled to some offers as well. There are huge web stores like Flipkart and Amazon whose apps help us get deals from different sellers. In addition to the deals on the website, there are additional benefits given after installing the mobile app. This convenience is also provided for buying literature of Param Pujya Gurudev through awgp e-store.
Ensure while shopping that your payment option is always through cash or debit card. Using credit card for a long shopping list can create a hole in your pocket. Financial experts say that the credit card limit is far more than the cash we hold. This results in buying more than what you can afford. It is often seen that we overshoot our budget while shopping with credit card. Cash payment restricts you to stay within limits.
There is a big attraction to the word ‘sale’ while shopping. If you cannot resist the attraction, you end up overdoing your shopping. The sellers use psychological methods to exploit the people. We should protect ourselves from these by searching for counter-psychological methods. It is best for us not to get caught in the snare of ‘free’ stuff while buying things. In the pursuit for freebies, we end up making the wrong choices of products. Similarly, we should be cautious to check for the expiry date while buying anything. Also, remember to take the bill and the manuals related to your products.
The most important thing is that we should do as less shopping as possible. It is best to decrease our requirements than fanning the fire of desires. The money that we save should be used for helping and serving the needy and in social welfare activities. We should put our money to alleviate the suffering and pain of our fellow beings. Always bear in mind that money is for living a simple and noble life and not for luxury and showoff. Hence we should all learn to put our money where ‘life’ is at stake. In addition to the art of shopping, we should also learn the art of earning punya or goodwill for our noble deeds.
