Staying Fit
After all these years, shouldn’t I be immune to holiday sales? I’m often on the receiving end of cornucopian product samples, so I have enough stuff in my closets to stock a small department store.
But let’s face it: Some shop opps (shopping opportunities) simply push my buttons. Guaranteed to suck me in, for example, is any email “alert” that mentions “limited edition,” “40% off” or my own personal Achilles heel, “Last day/online only; pick six minis free!”
AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.
My peers tell me they’re in the same boat. Subjected to a nonstop onslaught of marketing messages from screens both large and small, many of them have morphed into shopping zombies ( shombies ?), brainlessly punching in their credit card digits at 11 p.m.
So here’s what to do when an immovable object — that’s us — encounters a seemingly irresistible retail force:
Pocket your cash — and credit. The holidays can make us nervous, angry or sad, leaving us vulnerable to the lure of so-called “retail therapy.” Don’t go down that path! Try these three ways of inoculating yourself:
