MC

Two week ago I went with a friend to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. I read all the books in the series, and while I can’t always relate to Becky, I certainly find her funny. And Isla Fisher was the perfect choice, she portrayed the character beautifully.

You probably have already seen the trailer, but if you haven’t, here it is:

I enjoyed the movie, it was definitely a “girls night out” type of movie, for a relaxed evening and some fun with friends. But even more than the books, it left me wondering: are we celebrating shopaholics? I don’t mean it as a critic to the movie, but when you think about it, Rebecca isn’t the only popular character who got herself in financial trouble because of her shopping expenses. Carrie Bradshaw did, too. SATC aficionados will remember when she realized that she couldn’t afford to buy her apartment but she had over $40,000 worth of shoes in her closet. And that was without counting the clothes and other accessories.My daughters obviously don’t watch SATC, and my shopping habits are nowhere near Rebecca’s or Carrie’s or any other one of those gals – but Stella already has a passion for shoes, makeup and jewelry, and I do wonder what it will be like to shop with them when they grow up. Will they be all about the “magic cards” like the child version of Rebecca in the preview?

I was just talking about this with another friend who also has two girls, and she had the same concerns. Sure, it’s probably too early for me to worry about it, but in a few years Sarah will be a teenager and then she’ll have to start managing her pocket money and any money she gets as part of birthday presents, etc. Perhaps I should start teaching her now about saving money and so on – although I am not entirely sure I’m the best person for that, to be honest. I don’t even trust myself with a credit card, I only have a debit card for my own shopping: much safer, once the money is gone it’s gone, can’t go below zero

I think probably that’ll be the best way to go for Sarah too, especially if it’s something I have some control over, like the Current debit card by Discover, where parents can set spending limits and restrict the categories the card can be used to shop from. Something like that would make me feel a bit better, sort of like a child safety on a pc: you set the parameters, and then you can give your child a reasonable amount of freedom to use the pc, or in this case their card, with their own money.

I do realize that like everything, we’ll have to let go of any control on this too, when our kids grow up – but it’s nice to know there’s smarter ways to draw that fine line between freedom and lack of control. ’cause I don’t know about you, but I prefer my purchases without a side of guilt.

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