Retail therapy. . . .

Mark Morlock, my favorite columnist of all time, writes today about the American need to spend our way out of feelings of powerlessness, misery, and depression. His message is extremely political, as usual (one of the reasons I love him so very, very much), so if you're not overly liberal or if you're even slightly right of center, you might want to avoid clicking on his link---his writing WILL piss you off! Just a fair warning. . . .

Politics aside, his message is a good one for a newly frugal gal (a Fru-Gal?) like myself. Many an afternoon I've spent cruising the aisles at Macy's, Banana Republic, or The Gap, looking for that something special to make me feel. . . .well. . . special! Especially after a rough day at work in which my imperfections were magnified 1000x under the very nose of my boss, a new pair of shoes or a cute sweater could do wonders for the soul!

Morlock's column, of course, mentions the Bush presidency and our current economy of consumption as reason enough to begin to purge our collective STUFF (Mark doesn't suggest recycling or donation, though, which perturbs me---bad Mark, very bad!). Personally, regardless of politics, I'm trying to live less as a consumer (see my review of Not Buying It if you're interested) and take more time for the people in my life---the less stuff I buy, the less I'll have to (eventually) work, and the more time and energy I'll have for the people I love.