I keep seeing these annoying commercials on TV for this home furnishings  “club” franchise that has got me thinking. They feature testimonials from people saying things like “Without (company name), we wouldn’t have been able to furnish our home the way we wanted.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but people have been furnishing their homes for years without this store being around, so how can they say that? I mean, college and university students have been furnishing their rentals for decades using thrift store purchases, and free couches found during garbage day. And that’s not even restricted to students; frugal families have been doing that as well. I’ve even read articles in swanky magazines talking about how even celebrities and other assorted hangers-on have been trolling Craigslist or their neighbourhood, keeping their eyes peeled for a good piece of furniture somebody’s thrown out. So to hear these people in the commercial talk about how they “wouldn’t have been able to furnish their homes” without this store makes me sick.

It’s a classic example of retailers and society telling us that we need something that we can’t really afford. One of the ladies talks about a rug she got at the store for “only” $840 instead of the $2000 it was selling for retail. Really? She needed that exact rug? Come on now, let’s not exaggerate here people.

Now I’m the first one to admit that I am swayed by a good advertising campaign for a product I don’t really need but end up wanting. But this commercial is simply annoying and terrible. I don’t like the way it makes seem people seem desperate, like they would be living in an empty house, sleeping on the floor, and eating their meals out of cans using plastic utensils. Give me a break.

How about saving up for the things you really want? I’ve got a TV savings fund set up, because while my TV is on the downslope and will have to be replaced at some point, it’s not completely dead, and so I’ll keep using it for another few months. I’ve been trying to resist the lure of the electronics shops over the last few weeks, as they keep sending me email newsletters, talking about all the sales they’ve got going on. It’s been tough, I’ll admit, but I am trying to hold off till the end of the year. By then I will have at least half to 2/3s of the cost saved up, and then I’ll feel better about making that purchase.

The moral of this post? Don’t let advertising sway you into purchasing outside of your means. Buy only what you need, when you need it.

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