Living in a Consumer Society (Grab all the money from the people Society)

So here I am, in the Malaysian capital for the last couple of days. Like most people would when they come back or go to KL, I hit the malls. I went to about three within the last two days, including today. I've realised that I actually want a lot of things, all of which are not very cheap things to get.

Just within the last two weeks, I've already thought of things I would love to have. I've put them in a sort of a pictorial wish list below (not in chronological order of priority):

Introduced to this recently, this album by  Search The City, would love to get an copy, although I suppose the only feasible way to do that would be online retail or getting someone (which I have none of) from U.S.A to get it for me.

Another thing would be a good pair of headphones. Every time I've bought one, they always die on me. First, it's the right side that's unusable that follows a period of time before you can't get anything out of it.

The next one's a book by Chet Holmes, The Ultimate Sales Machine. I've read through a bit at Borders and MPH. As the title suggests, it's about sales, improving corporate performance.

As needless as may be. I want a desktop because all of them 'pwn' any form of laptops, and yes the main reason I want one is to play high definition games. On my current laptop, even if move graphic settings one level up to Medium, Red Alert 3 will start lagging (sigh).




A clip on capo for my acoustic guitar. It's really annoying to have to spend time attaching a capo in between songs. Having one of these would be really neat. I've seen Daniel Tan use it so easily, hardly having to do anything to change to or from capo in between numbers.

The Origin of Brands by Al & Laura Ries, just one of a few books I'm interested to read about branding.

A new pair of Dennis Chambers Zildjian drumsticks. It's definitely one of my most favoured drumsticks. Drumsticks are definitely more expensive nowadays, whether it's Artist Series or not.

A drumpad to practice on. There's no way I'm ever getting a drum set (good cymbals cost fortunes), and even if I did, how can I practice within a neigbourhood without getting complaints. Even this small thing costs quite a bit.

The home jersey of my all-time favourite football team since 1994. As you know, since this jersey is produced by a famous sportswear and fashion corporation, the price is exactly  RM ridiculous.

A Macbeth tee, saw one I wanted in One Utama today. Why oh why does a simple Macbeth tee have to be priced more than an 8 GB flash drive? Maybe it's because the former Blink 182 and current Angels & Airwaves front man owns it.

 And to go along with that, a pair of Macbeth shoes.

An external hard disk with space more than or equal to 200 GB.











Well, that's at the top of my head right now. I'm sure there's more stuff I want, but for now, that's that on the list. Take a look at it again, I'm sure you'll agree buying more than two of any items in the list pinches you. For me, even buying one already makes me feel... man... losing cash, hahaha!

Out of the 12 items shown, how many of them are actually a necessity? Someone who knows me would probably think, well, it's not quite necessary for you I guess, but it's always nice to have. I'll say that I've eyed some of these items for a very long while, whereas others have only become recent additions to my wish list.

It's interesting isn't it. For some, buying comes so easily. Sometimes I really do wonder where some people get the money from to buy everything they have or go on the holidays they go on ever so freely. Some aren't even aware of their buying power but they can afford any brand they want (Example: babies that wear adidas/nike/puma shoes).

Then, there's those that sometimes have the struggle, to buy or not. Certain thoughts immediately come, such as, "If I wait long enough, will there be a sale on this item?" I hate the fact that so many times I come across the situation where I love the design or functionality of something, but the price tag puts me off straightaway. It's not just one or two items, loads of them! Even if someone (other than parents, heh, but depends too) buys it for me, it still would make me feel guilty about the price paid for it.


As of right now, I still have that guilt of purchasing. Macbeth shoes? Don't you already have shoes? A Macbeth tee? How many tees do you already have? You should know how the rest goes. It's likely that even in this season, I won't even get one of those items up there in that list. As much as I want each and every item there, it's not like I haven't lived without them. It does suck a little, or a lot, when you just can't get that nice thing you want.

There's one thing though. Being put in such a situation and being reasonable about it enables us to avoid being sucked into the consumeristic society, where buying now is everything. That's always been dangerous. If you've read newspapers this year, you would know that plenty of people in Malaysia are currently unprepared for retirement from a financial standpoint. Contentment is important, especially from a materialistic standpoint. I'll always want more, no matter what I have, but settling to live with what I have would always be better.