My Problem Could Be Your Problem
© Reginald Vickers
One part of my life that I have never been able to get a grip on has been my finances. I have had good paying jobs in the past. Ten years ago, I probably made double what I make now. But once you get into the human service field you have to tell yourself, it's not about money but about the people you help. I'm ok with that. My problem is not with what I make but with how I spend it. I use to love to spend money (and as most of you know I love to shop).
A couple of years ago, I came across a program called Spenders Anonymous (SA). It happened one day as I was doing my weekly bargain hunting in the Asheville Mall. I was following my usual routine by going into a store and looking at every label on each sale item. When I found an item that presented a discount of over 80%, I would buy it. It didn't matter what it was, the size, or the color. I had to have it. It was a bargain. While tagging (that's what we at SA call looking at each and every price tag) in Belks one day, I saw someone looking at me, someone besides security. He was just outside the window and I could tell his eyes were following me. When I exited the store, he walked up to me and introduced himself as Tom. He said, "I use to have that same problem." I told him I didn't know what he was talking about (but somehow, I really did). He went on to tell me how he would pay the department managers an extra $5 if they would tell him when sales were going to hit. They would put an extra code on the items that were marked down more than 75% (later, I found out that some people are 75'ers, some 80'ers (like me), and some 90'ers). He would call in sick on that sale day just so he could be the first one in the store. He then asked me something I wasn't really ready to handle. "What do you have in the bag?" I told him that I didn't have a problem and I wasn't going to tell him. I grabbed my bag and began to walk away briskly. He kept shouting "What do you have in the bag! Answer me, what do you have in the bag!" As I rushed to my car, sweat was pouring down my face in the middle of January. I knew what I had in the bag. He had hit a nerve. I knew that my most recent bargain conquests were something I would never use but I had to have them- they were a bargain. My bag contained a fruitcake and men's thong underwear in the shape of a reindeer head. It was true. I had a problem. I sat in my car and cried.
