Spenders Addiction

Over the last few weeks I've been bad.  My savings rate for these next few months are going to be hit pretty hard.  It's not like I went out and bought an iPad 3 (but I could!) it's just been lots of friends coming and going, weddings, and of course of end of year parties (the Japanese school year and most Japanese companies end of year is in March).  The end of year parties are almost inescapable in Japan if you want to keep on good terms with your employers.  They are gonna make damn sure you're happy at the end of the year even if it totally hinders you reaching financial independence.  So far I've had one end of year party for a teacher leaving, a trip to see friends who are also leaving, a wedding (and 2nd and 3rd and 4th parties...), and this Friday I have another English teacher Enkai.  Had I known this one was going to be so expensive I would have tried to get out of it.  On top of this we will probably have a year opening party as well.  Ugh...

Not only this but I have also purchased my tickets to go back home this August.  I managed to get everything for under 180,000 yen (this includes round trip to and from the US, plus we are taking a short trip out to the midwest and the east coast) but that is still quite a chunk of change.  I'll of course pay it all off quickly.  Within two months at the most, but probably just one.  I guess this is the time to do it as the US market is rallying like nobodies business and I'm waiting for a dip before I try to pick up any more positions.

Most of this is beside the point however.  I've had about two weeks off of work and another week to go.  With all of this spending I've been doing I've noticed that it's become like crack cocaine.  I need another hit.  I need to take that money out of my wallet and hand it over for my next high.  I don't even really care what it is.  I was in Yokohama the other day to take some photos and noticed that I was looking around.  I don't really shop but I caught myself just considering things.  I went to the book store and noticed a JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N1 vocabulary book.  I flipped through it and all of these wonderful thoughts of me getting back into studying for the JLPT, feeling accomplished after a good ANKI session, and eventually getting that JLPT N1 certificate.  I had to stop myself.  "You have this book already!  You have it at home!"  Yep, I caught myself about to buy a book I already own.  Okay, to be fair it's not the exact 100% same book.  In fact the one I have I think is better!  I'm pretty sure it has not only JLPT level 1 but also level 2 vocabulary(the book was published before they changed to the new system).  Sure maybe it's older but just because the test changed doesn't mean the Japanese language itself did.

Another incident was when I was going grocery shopping.  We recently made a Costco run and usually we pick up one of their rotisserie chickens.  After stripping it of all the meat we can we throw it into a pot and boil it up for chicken soup the next day.  However we didn't have any carrots or onion so the next day I went to the store and grabbed some.  I suddenly caught a huge wave of satisfaction come over me as I left the store.  I had to catch myself again.  "Holy shit!  Am I high on just buying vegetables?!"  All I had bought was about 300 yen worth of vegetables but because it had been 2 days since I spent any money that was enough to send me into spenders high.

Shopping, spending money, buying things is an addictive habit.  Your "dealers" know this too.  Every marketing asshole sitting in an office trying to figure out how to get what he's selling that you don't need into your house so you can have a short "spenders trip" and then shove it under your bed, into your closet, put onto your bookshelf, etc. knows that spending is addictive.  I've noticed it in other people too.

The Yokohama Sogo is, I've been told, one of the biggest malls on the planet.  It's about 100 stories of just nothing but shops, boutiques, clothes, and crap.  Sure they make it look nice, and they even have a good book store but all I can see now when I look at it is a giant crack house.  You can see the druggies go in and out every day.  Getting their hit and then hitting the road until the high wears off.

You might thinking I'm being a bit too harsh, and okay, maybe a few people are buying things they actually need.  A recent graduate needs a new suit.  Some students pens, pencils and paper for the new school year starting soon.  I get all of that.  But so do the dealers.  They understand it so well that they will prey on that instinct to buy.  "May I have your address?  Here's our flyer!"  "May I have your email address?  Here's our newsletter!"  It's not that these people are bad or sinful, it's that they act with no control.  They act with the idea that more is always better and with more you will be happy.

Well I can tell you I've had more, and I wasn't happy.  In fact I have less stuff now than I have had in the last five years.  When I travel back to the states this summer I can tell you the amount of things that I own will decrease even more, and my happiness will increase exponentially.

I can't say I'll never buy again.  I can't say I won't have that "shoppers high" when I do.  But I will say that I am aware of my addiction.  I'm the Kecchi One and I'm addicted to spending money.  What's your name?