bookmark_borderSome shops are evil

Tomorrow I am going into a city called Glasgow. Once there I will likely partake of a coffee from an American outlet known as Starbucks, and most likely wander around a variety of shops trying not to spend money (hey, I’m Scottish, shut up).

This activity is known as shopping. The key purpose of shopping is to visit shops with the aim of purchasing an item (or items) that you need. The items I currently need are some new shirts for work, and probably a new shirt to wear the following weekend when we attend a small party being thrown to celebrate the fact my sister got engaged (yay!).

The shopping activity is one I am familiar with but, over recent years I have fallen out of practise, preferring to purchase required items online and have them delivered to me. So, whilst shopping for everyday essentials is a fairly routine task, shopping for specific yet more ephemeric items is not something I’ve done for a while and I fear that, once I rediscover my latent shopping abilities, I will go mad with spending power and end up buying many unnecessary items.

The shirts for work I will buy somewhere cheap as they get heavy use. The shirt (outfit?) for the party will be bought somewhere a little more expensive as it’s for a special occasion. The logic here is, obviously, wrong. I should be spending more on the shirts I wear everyday as I should get better quality, longer lasting shirts that way, right?

One of the problems I have when shopping is when I’m not looking for something specific. By that I mean I’m not looking to go and buy THAT shirt, I’m just shopping for A shirt. This is when it’s just as well I shop by myself, as I tend to hold off making a purchase in case I see something I prefer elsewhere, typically returning to the first store I visited once I’ve exhausted all other options.

And with my spending abilities rediscovered, what happens if I spot a nice jacket, or perhaps a nice pair of shoes, neither of which I need but which may catch my eye? On my wanderings I may pass several different stores and it’s likely that, with my excited wallet jangling in my pocket, I will venture in “just for a quick look”, emerging sometime later with yet more books, CDs and other unnecessary items.

I must curb such urges!

Perhaps a list is required, a small amount of planning to ensure that I limit myself only to that which I need, and thus remove the temptation to spend. I do keep a list of items that I see here and there, so can pull from that if required, strictly adhering to the “do I really need this” rule which I am notoriously bad for following, I admit.

Regardless, I think a list will help. I will commit to buying only items on the list, and nothing else. I will be brave in the face of mounting pressure and stay strong and true to my goal! Yes! I can do this!!

On Saturday I will be purchasing:

  • A Grande Skinny Latte in Starbucks. No cake!
  • Three shirts for work.
  • A shirt to wear to the party.
  • A 24″ iMac.

Huh? That’s not right…

And so we get to the crux of the matter. I confess. Dear blog readers, despite the fact is has been open for over a year I have yet to set foot inside the Apple store in Glasgow.

Now, this is mainly because I’ve not been shopping in Glasgow for months, so haven’t had occasion to stop by for a gander, but that self same reasoning now works against me. For I will be in Glasgow on Saturday, I will likely have the ‘shoppies’ in full flow and, in horrible cunning move, there is a Starbucks outlet RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE APPLE STORE! (yeah, big surprise, right?)

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve thought all of this through. I don’t need an iMac and I certainly don’t have the money required to buy the one I’d want anyway so it’s a bit of a no brainer. Admittedly I quite fancy the super thin wireless keyboard but, price wise, that wouldn’t be all that bad in comparison.

Despite that, it felt a little like the stars were aligning and cosmic forces were coming into play, so I was steeling myself to ward off the demons (with the ingenious tactic of avoiding the area around the Apple store altogether) when the final blow was delivered.

“Are you going into Glasgow on Saturday? I’m going to get my hair done so take your time, have a wander. Ohhhh you could finally get to the Apple store…”

So, really, it’s not gonna be my fault. Right?