Impulse shopping

Not my best work: Guardian called me on it: I rushed this one through. I totally appreciate his input!  Anyway: here's the linky-poo... and the GF blog:

But I WANT it...

Thank GAWD I married who I did. Otherwise who knows where I would be, in the poorhouse probably. My husband is the unique combination of the rational advisor who reminds you to save for a rainy day and the playmate who urges you to just whip out the credit card, and “get whatever you want hunny.” See, the secret, well one secret, to a successful marriage is to make financial decisions together. Gaming is all about the consumerism, and the opportunity to part fools from their money is legion and thus far I have kept my impulse shopping in check; but for how long?

XBLA is an impulse shoppers dream. 150 points on a new gamer pic? Meh, why not? 800 on a new map pack? Sure, all my friends have it. I can get a whole new game for 1600 MS points. I have done all of these things, and here is the sad, sad confession. I have no idea how much money 1600 points costs. I admit it. Math is hard. And yes, I am a blonde: a blonde with a great job, and a university education. The point is, I buy these things without understanding how much money I am spending. And if you think I am the only one, think again. Microsoft isn’t stupid: they could have had a one to one MS point to dollar ratio. Instead they chose a much more confounding point system. We have to ask ourselves why? It’s so that consumers don’t consciously think about how much they are spending. for a XBLA game? NEVER! 1600 points for an XBLA game? Sure! They are points: points are free... it’s like I earned them in the first place, may as well spend them.

Now that I have the disposable income that comes with a professional government job, I must constantly be on guard against the urge to buy new hardware. I have no problems ignoring important upgrades to our computer, but I DO find it difficult to pass up whole new machines. Especially, and again I admit my flaws publically, when new systems come in such appealing colours. This year’s back to school campaign nearly suckered me into getting a laptop. I saw them in an adorable ad and I got to thinking of all the ways I could use one. “I could play some games in bed!”, she thought as her PSP glared at her reproachfully, “I could also write my stuff got Gamefocus at the kitchen table.” So after a few weeks of dropping the “JayCat Hint” (I put the “HEY! Over here! In “subtlety” ) my husband and I finally took a trip over to a major electronics store, just to kick the tires so to speak. What happened when I got there? I didn’t want one. Sometimes it’s the hunt, not the kill.

They sell the Nintendo DS at Shoppers Drug Mart. I declare this to be “not fair”. And yes, I do go to Shoppers on 20X the points days just to get enough points so I can make the ridiculous purchase of another handheld gaming device.

Lastly, games. I have extreme willpower when it comes to games itself. Maybe because I know that I can barely keep up with the games I have that I don’t feel the need to purchase more games. But this logic applies to everything else, yet I still drool over the thought of purchasing a custom painted PS3 (chocolate brown and aqua, thank you) or a laptop that I don’t really need.

Impulse shopping is out there, and the gaming industry wants your hard earned cash. My advice? Just think a little bit before you lay your money down. Except when it’s a pink Nintendo DS: that is a totally rational decision.