(no subject)
Whitney and I got together this afternoon to go to the "Ice Festival" happening in Yorkville (and put in ballots to win prizes!), and as we wandered around Yorkville, we ventured into Holt Renfrew - you should note that I have never been into this store, nor did I have any preconceived notions of what truly expensive would be.
Well, let's put it this way:
We walked through the makeup area, over to the purses. At this point, I laughed and said "you know it's expensive when a store has so much open space!" However. I had no notion of what this expensive meant. Well, we were walking past the "clearance" purses, and well, when I see "clearance", I imagine prices of like $50 or less - it's clearance afterall.
There's certainly no $50 prices here - if I'm lucky, perhaps I could have bought a lipstick for $50 at Holt Renfrew.... clearance purses were over $2000 - that's more than my take home pay each month; I can't fathom choosing to throw that money down on a purse.
OH, and when we went up to what I call the "Museum of Current Fashion", the prices were outrageous. There was a cute turquoise dress - I knew it wouldn't fit me, but I still thought it was cute. We looked at the price tag: $4200. What's worse is that there are people who clearly think that's a reasonable price to pay to purchase a dress. If there wasn't a market, the dress wouldn't exist afterall.
$4200... that would pay off a huge chunk of my student loan. Or give me a fabulous vacation with friends, or the start of a downpayment for a home. How can someone just throw away that money on a dress. Or 800 on a scarf? $5000 on a purse?
Are these people nuts?
And, as Whitney and I were discussing, if I had $4000 to spend on one item, then I have too much money to waste, and am better off donating to improve the lives of others. Did you know that $1000 can give 80 kids an education for a year in a developing nation?
$1000 isn't really that much - in 2 months, I put that much against my student loan. In one month, that's what Rob and I spend on rent (and then some). In fact, in one month, I spend more than that as my "spending money": rent, food, metropass, entertainment, etc. My loan and savings are another 750 or so.
And I'm happy. I have everything I need. I earn a reasonable amount of money - sure, other people make more than me, and I'm closer to the low income end of things (given that we're in Toronto), but all my needs are covered, and then some. In fact, to compare my life with others, I live a life of excess and indulgence. We have food in our cupboards, money that allows us to go on vacations and go out for dinners and spend in ways that amount to frivolous entertainment for an afternoon. And that's ok. I'm allowed to enjoy what I do have, but I feel that I should acknowledge it and also make a difference where I can. I know I alone won't save the world showing up at work everyday, but I can do my part to improve things, even on my "low income".
And it's really not all that low. Itès a fair amount to make as a single person!
Well, let's put it this way:
We walked through the makeup area, over to the purses. At this point, I laughed and said "you know it's expensive when a store has so much open space!" However. I had no notion of what this expensive meant. Well, we were walking past the "clearance" purses, and well, when I see "clearance", I imagine prices of like $50 or less - it's clearance afterall.
There's certainly no $50 prices here - if I'm lucky, perhaps I could have bought a lipstick for $50 at Holt Renfrew.... clearance purses were over $2000 - that's more than my take home pay each month; I can't fathom choosing to throw that money down on a purse.
OH, and when we went up to what I call the "Museum of Current Fashion", the prices were outrageous. There was a cute turquoise dress - I knew it wouldn't fit me, but I still thought it was cute. We looked at the price tag: $4200. What's worse is that there are people who clearly think that's a reasonable price to pay to purchase a dress. If there wasn't a market, the dress wouldn't exist afterall.
$4200... that would pay off a huge chunk of my student loan. Or give me a fabulous vacation with friends, or the start of a downpayment for a home. How can someone just throw away that money on a dress. Or 800 on a scarf? $5000 on a purse?
Are these people nuts?
And, as Whitney and I were discussing, if I had $4000 to spend on one item, then I have too much money to waste, and am better off donating to improve the lives of others. Did you know that $1000 can give 80 kids an education for a year in a developing nation?
$1000 isn't really that much - in 2 months, I put that much against my student loan. In one month, that's what Rob and I spend on rent (and then some). In fact, in one month, I spend more than that as my "spending money": rent, food, metropass, entertainment, etc. My loan and savings are another 750 or so.
And I'm happy. I have everything I need. I earn a reasonable amount of money - sure, other people make more than me, and I'm closer to the low income end of things (given that we're in Toronto), but all my needs are covered, and then some. In fact, to compare my life with others, I live a life of excess and indulgence. We have food in our cupboards, money that allows us to go on vacations and go out for dinners and spend in ways that amount to frivolous entertainment for an afternoon. And that's ok. I'm allowed to enjoy what I do have, but I feel that I should acknowledge it and also make a difference where I can. I know I alone won't save the world showing up at work everyday, but I can do my part to improve things, even on my "low income".
And it's really not all that low. Itès a fair amount to make as a single person!