The Relationship with Money and Material Objects

Money and material objects are omnipresent throughout the diary. This is not surprising in a testimony about addictive buying, in which the author describes a person economic behavior in great detail. However, the symbolic meanings of products and money, which are sometimes explicitly mentioned and other times are implicit in the author’s interpretations of the buying episodes and other life events, reveal some deep-rooted materialistic values. For example:

I admit now that I dreamt of one day shopping in good shops like my big boss….haha… A friend (female) before she  got married, who was always dressed in the latest fashion, drew my attention a lot, like the boys who were well dressed. I was mistaken, but nothing can be done about it.

Although, at times, she seems to question the importance of money and material objects, these values constantly emerge. For example, an important motive for worry and anxiety is the damage that her buying behavior has caused to her husband and children. On one occasion, she mentions the possible emotional damage caused by her permanent state of anxiety and irritability; she also considers at one point that her spending habits have not set a good example for her children, but most of the references to this issue refer to the pain she feels because the accumulated debts now prevent her from buying things:

I see people with their flat all set up buy a car, things for their child, and I think how I have ruined my family… It takes a great effort to acknowledge these feelings, like seeing a friend who has kept his money under control and has many more things.

What is outstanding throughout the diary is the degree to which family relationships and friendship revolve around the purchase of products, going to shops as a leisure activity, and gifts, both in the form of material objects and money. One fact that illustrates this centrality is the friendship maintained for years with another buying addict from whom she frequently receives money and gifts.

Money, material objects and presents in family relationships and friendships.

What did I spend money on? On everything and on everyone.

It can repeatedly be seen that purchases, material objects, and money have always been and are present as means of communication and relating, both in family relationships and in friendships. Gifts of articles of clothing and other products to various family members and friends are frequent, not only on special occasions, but as a routine that is carried out either by buying or by paying for what others buy. For example:

Last week I went to get clothes for my nephew, I went with my niece… I think that they have forgotten about that affair of them buying me the suit, but it doesn’t matter.

At times, money and presents fulfill a reciprocal function: They are a way of paying for, or returning favors.

One day, I had a quarrel with my nephew, the one I always said was my child, and the relationship no longer feels the same to me. I feel sorry about the affection and about everything I spent on them. Of course, you must understand that they now have a good friend that gives them a lot, and an uncle without children who is giving them a lot of money, you can see it in their clothes and everything.

The inappropriate nature of my relationships with certain friends, based on excessive gifts, becomes evident to a good friend, someone from outside the family.

Everything I gave them didn’t seem right to my friend. When that happened, I was often with the wife of one of these friends. They had a daughter whom I was very fond of. As they didn’t have much money I always bought things for the girl, shoes, a dress, a jacket. My friend was right, it was too much. For my birthday, I went to the shop and I really took advantage of this friend, because he pays by installments. I bought a jacket, a skirt, a jersey, a jacket with a polo shirt, and, to round it off, two pairs of pants because last year’s pants are no use to me.

In fact, this friend’s gifts include clothes and other products for the husband and children. These family values, beliefs, and customs with respect to money and material objects, in short, the predominant material culture in this family generates an atmosphere of permissiveness that favors the development of addictive buying.

The behavior of both women during these visits reminds one of a relationship with a child, a nephew or niece, or a grandchild, because each time there is a visit, there is always, or nearly always, “pocket money”. Last Monday, my mother came to bring me prescriptions, well, I was waiting to see if she would give me something… she gave me five hundreds.

I’m going to draw a five hundreds for today or tomorrow because my nephews and nieces are coming. I draw a thousand because there are two of them and they’ll spend it on the machines, if not, I’d only take five hundred.

Addiction to buying, also known as compulsive buying constitutes a compulsive pattern of acquisition of products that is analogous to drug addictions. Based on market research and prevalence studies estimate the scope of the problem in different countries at between 1% and 7% of the population.

However, in western consumer societies, a growing tendency has been noted of buying, which is impulsive, recreational, and compensatory for negative emotional states, and the percentage of consumers who are prone or vulnerable to addiction is estimated to be between 19.5% and 25% of the population. These figures indicate the social relevance of this phenomenon, which is not limited to a small percentage of subjects suffering from a mental disorder, but instead reflects a socio-cultural tendency whose medium- and long-term consequences should be considered.

The definitions of addiction to buying include as key characteristics a perceived difficulty in controlling one’s impulsive and excessive buying behavior, its chronic nature, its functions of emotional repair and of symbolically improving self-esteem, the development of a strong psychological dependence, and its damaging effects at the economic, psychological, and family levels. Similarly, they point to learning processes as factors that explain the difficulty to control the behavior and its repetitive nature, and they acknowledge vulnerability factors of a cultural, social, situational, and psychobiological nature.

The above-mentioned perception of difficulty to control, linked to the highly impulsive nature of buying, has led to different and, at times, contrary interpretations of the nature of addictive buying, even going so far as to indicate that addictive buying can present characteristics of voluntary behavior. This latter point of view has also been defended by other authors in the field of addiction to chemical substances (Megías et al., 2000; Peele, 1987) and of impulsive behavior in general (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994). These different conceptualizations are directly related to the different conceptual models of addictive behavior and to the issue of addicts’ personal responsibility for their own behavior and aspects.

Many factors affect the exchange rates and interest rates of currencies, such as political events, financial forecasts, economic stability, and inflation management. But the underlying theory remains the same. Countries that need to attract deposits generally do so with higher interest rates than countries that are doing better economically. Countries that are doing fine tend to have stronger currencies.

When It Makes Sense

Borrowing in a foreign currency makes sense only in a few circumstances. One such instance is when you don’t require the maximum debt allowed by the bank; when the bank allows you to borrow 80 percent of the property’s cost, but you borrow only 50 percent. That allows breathing room for currency and interest fluctuations.

Another instance is when you plan on repaying the borrowed amount using the same currency; using your Singapore dollar salary, for example. Also, borrowing a much smaller amount than a home mortgage is a safer circumstance.

The first golden rule when playing this game is not to borrow the maximum and to always match the borrowing currency with your planned repayment currency, if possible. The second golden rule is not to gamble on currency risk with borrowed money unless you can afford to lose it.

Borrower Beware

Financial advisers will show you past records and statistics to demonstrate that the fallout from this risk rarely happens. They will tell you that since you can get interest on the callable amount, you are adequately protected because it is money that you still own. They will tell you that when you see currencies moving in the wrong direction, you can switch back to the other currency.

I will tell you that they are usually misleading you. Often, they will not even be familiar with the basic theory of interest rates because they are blinded by the prospect of high commissions at the expense of ignoring the risks.

Many financial advisers won’t tell you that every time you switch currencies, they will make a significant profit on the bid or offer-spread of the currencies.

They won’t tell you the statistics that show how many people have been financially crippled by taking currency risks with which they are not familiar. They won’t tell you that you should never gamble on currencies with borrowed money, because you risk having the bank take your house away.

But I will tell you. As you can see, I take my job as their archenemy very seriously.