Back in the late 1700s, French philosopher Denis Diderot found himself broke. But he lucked out when Catherine the Great heard he couldn’t afford to pay for his daughter’s wedding and she stepped in to give him a huge wad of cash.
Feeling flush, he bought himself a new red robe. Then this happened…
He immediately felt his other possessions looked flabby in contrast to his new robe. So he bought a new rug. Then some sculptures. Then…and on it went. Until he was once again unable to afford the wedding.
This is the Diderot Effect: when you buy stuff that then creates a spiral of empty consumption.
I’ve said this many times before, shopping begets shopping. You go to The Shops and it compels you to make the most of your visit and you find yourself buying stuff you don’t really need. You figure you