General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Are you going to change your buying practices because of the Bangladesh building collapse? [View all]Whisp
(24,096 posts)Normally, I detest going to the mall and avoid it as much as I can.
The thrift shop I go to now takes some of their money and gives to charities - I think it's run by the Mennonite Central Committee. And their stuff is cheap! and pretty damned good!. I got a nice pair of Steven Madden shoes for $3.00! They fit, they look good.
Our bigger thrift outet in the city, called Value Village, has really gone to the dogs as their prices are crazy high now and the pickings are pretty slim, so I am happy to support a small outlet instead. Prices are about a third of what they are at Value Village (we call it Vulture Village now) - who have gone nuts with pricing and forgot their purpose.
It's been a while since I've been a conspicuous consumer - back when I had a bit of money and didn't know better. It's tough being moneyless I don't have to tell anyone, but somehow it's been almost like a Fasting... I feel good not having that feeling of just Needing to go to the mall to buy some useless expensive shit. I found out that I don't really need that much, and I like that feeling.
We were on a trip just recently to Vegas, yeh yeh, of all places for someone without much money. ha. Anyway, it was an unavoidable trip and I almost enjoyed the spectacle of consumerism, from the outside looking in on some strange experiment or something. What spending money I had I mostly gave away to the streetlife instead of shiney objects. And that felt good too.