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Sunday PaperCan’t get by without the paper?  Fine.  At least don’t look at the ads.  Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA(RIP).  These were the things that I looked forward to in the Sunday paper.  I was not interested in the weather.  The comics were nice, but those could always wait.  Never mind what was going on in my neck of the woods, much less the world, the ads had to be looked at first.  Sunday morning @ 9am sharp I would fetch the paper from the driveway, plop it up on the kitchen table, and proceed to dismantle the thing until I found those precious Sunday ads. 

The biggest store specials always belonged in the first page.  Inventory that needed to be cleared to make room for newer models usually shows up in the last page.  Everything else laid in between.  I would quickly skim thru the pages then make mental notes of the things that catch my fancy then go back and go over those items in greater detail.  Inevitably some things will stand out and stay with me for the rest of the day.  Then the wanting starts.  I try to forget about it but I can’t.  Try to pre-occupy myself with something else but it doesn’t work.  I try to talk myself out of it, but by then it is too late.  The fascinating process of convincing myself has already begun and anything that I try to do or say only reinforces how bad I want it and make me act on it and buy it now! 

That my friends is what you call getting worked up in a lather ^_^  How worked up?  I’ve once blown over 6 grand in a weekend due to these ads furnishing my living room.  Say what you will about them (I know I have), they sure are effective though. 

The glossy paper, the vivid colors, the pretty pictures.  All designed to grab your attention and fill your mind with possibilities.  While some are more susceptible(raises hand) than others, everyone who looks at the ads usually sees something they like and is given that subtle “push” to at least think about it, if not act on it outright(again raises his hand).  That is the power of advertising.

Now I’m not saying that advertising is bad.  I plan on putting up ads on the site in the future to help keep it running, and maybe a add a little coin in my pocket :)  I’m just saying that if you’re a raging consumerist like I was(still a work in progress), and would like to lay off the ’sauce’, avoiding the ads is one of the little things that you can do to help turn things around.  You know what they say about the little things - they add up.

As for me, I’ve realized that it was a problem and admitted as such.  It’s been a difficult road but I can confidently say that Ive been clean and sober of the Sunday paper for almost 2 years now.  If I can do it, anybody can.

So what does one do to kick the Sunday paper ads habit?  Lots!

  • Don’t buy the Sunday paper.  I know it sounds really simple but it works!  No Sunday paper, no ads!  No ads, no temptation to spend!
  • Only look at the coupons:  Keep in mind coupons are only good when you use them for things you actually need.  Don’t use them just for the sake of using them.
  • Go to church:  Pray for the strength to resist looking at those ads.  And for world peace of course.
  • Actually read the news once in a while:  Wait a minute, the governor of California is who again!?!?
  • Go jogging:  Get healthy, exercise.  A nice 30 minute fun run is better than sitting on the couch ogling at the new 7.1 channel, DTS-HD decoding, HDMI v1.3, 1080p upconverting, multi-room capable, XM-Satellite ready, THX-certified AV receiver, no?
  • Don’t buy the Sunday paper:  I said it before and I’ll say it again.  You don’t want to keep feeding the monster (in this case, the spending monster).
  • Clean the house and throw away the ads:  Idle hands are the devils playground.  Kill two birds with one stone.  A man’s house is his castle.  A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  A fool and his money are soon parted.  A rolling stone gathers no moss…
  • Get a dog: Although this seems counter-intuitive to the above tip, according to my sister it is really effective.  She says having a dog is akin to having a shredder.  An undiscriminating, noisy, slobbering, leg-humping, pooping, shredder.
  • Don’t buy the Sunday paper: Have I mentioned this already?  Help protect the environment in your own way by reading the news online.  Think of the resources that would be saved if we all switched to paperless news?  That’s a lot of trees people.
  • Join a support group: United we stand, etc, etc…Hey if there are over eaters anonymous, alcoholics anonymous, gamblers anonymous, why can’t there be spenders anonymous?  Actually there is!  Here is a link to the website.

The road to recovery is long and filled with trials and tribulations but take heart dear reader.  With patience and perseverance, you too can get the paper monkey off your back :)

Thanks for reading.