Early Retirement Blog

On Black Friday, November 28, 2008 in Long Island New York, a Wal-Mart employee was crushed to death by frenzied shoppers who crashed through the store’s doors before dawn.   What caused his death?   A Wii? A Big Screen Plasma HDTV?

After the 34 year old employee had been trampled, and lay dead on the floor, crazed shoppers continued stepping over his lifeless body in search of their holiday merchandise.

What causes Americans to line up outside malls and shops in the freezing cold pre-dawn hours?   Stores to open their doors at 4:00 a.m? What causes average ordinary Americans, to step on another human being until he is dead, in order to buy their kid a  toy?

This poor employee’s senseless death is sad but not shocking.   Stories of customers beating the hell out of each other, over a Cabbage Patch Doll , Tickle Me Elmo, or some computer console, have appeared every Christmas season for at least twenty years.   People shooting each other, over parking spaces at crowded malls, were once quite common.

This madness is a symptom of a culture based on consumption, where self identity is determined by what brand a person buys, and self worth is measured by the quantity of material goods a person possesses.   The American culture of consumption is responsible for a tremendous amount of environmental and economic damage.   It is also responsible for why Americans have a negative savings rate, and so many have trouble retiring, and it is responsible for this poor man’s death.

Do yourself, and your retirement a favor, this year turn Black Friday Green.   Take the money you would have spent in the mall and stick it in your retirement account.

Last year at this time, I wrote “Spending Retirement In The Mall“, about how to create a Holiday Budget to avoid damaging your retirement savings.   Take a look at the article, given this years economic situation, I would recommend drastically reducing your holiday budget.   The deals on merchandise will be around for a long time, their is no shortage of inventory, and absolutely no reason to kill each other for a piece of plastic.

Update: After I wrote this post this Black Friday morning, we get news this afternoon, of two men who drew guns in Southern California and shot each other to death in a Toys R’ Us.   What needs to be killed? Black Friday.

Also Read:
10 Green Ways to Save $1 Million and the Planet
Get out of Debt by Going Green