For many, Christmas can be a stressful time of year. What with all the buying and wrapping of presents and the preparation of dinner. All the things that have to be done to ensure that all is perfect on Christmas day – some may find the days leading to Christmas more eventful than the actual day itself! Amidst all the chaos, do people stop to ask themselves whether all the spending is necessary? Can 2017 be the year where we put aside spending money, and concentrate on acts of charity and generosity?
Well, that is what many people thought when Christmas day had finally drawn to a close. Little did they know that Boxing Day sales would just lure them into the world of spending even more!
Westfield Stratford City was a prime example of the greed displayed during the time of Christmas. The well-known shopping mall in East London opened up at 5am on Boxing Day, ready for the colossal crowds surging forward in search of a good deal. In fact, at 2am in the morning, people were already camping outside of Westfield; desperate for last minute bargains that would make them happy.
Amongst the crowd of shoppers people took to social media, videoing the mass of people crawling through the mall. At first sight, one of the largest malls in Europe was likened to a football stadium discharging it’s hundreds of fans, all in one go! Packed together so tightly, one would wonder why people would want to go to such lengths to do a little bit of shopping.
Although it may be something to laugh at or to show to your friend, the amount of people spending money on things they don’t need has risen a great amount and is now becoming something quite worrying. From September to December 2016, consumer spending had escalated by £2.1 billion pounds in the Christmas and Boxing Day sales. Consumerism gone mad!
Why can’t we just refrain from shopping so much? The less you spend, the more you are benefitting yourself, the environment and other people. Additionally, the satisfaction you may receive from buying that watch on Boxing Day exerts extra pressure on people working in these shops – who are human too, and most probably want to go home! Should we really be spending that much especially in an uncertain future with the devalued sterling caused by Brexit? Should we not be pocketing our pennies and thinking more about each other and how we are going to cope with the unfathomable world?
A new year is a fresh start for everyone. So can 2017 be the year we ask ourselves “Is that something I need or am I just being greedy?”
Need or greed?
Three simple words to ask ourselves, before splurging our money out on things we may not necessarily require!
Marissa Lay
