Wal-Mart worker dies in Black Friday stampede
 

Although I'd hate to get trampled, at least his family will no longer ever have to worry about money again. Reminds me of the P. Diddy concert trampling. Sad story.


source: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...art_after.html

Goodness gracious! Consumerism has gone insane. I know the economy needs to be boosted- but not at this price.

I need to purchase a few things- but today I will buy nothing other than groceries. I dislike crowds way too much to even consider braving the stores.

My thoughts exactly. The store will be there tomorrow.

My condolences to the clerk's family and the woman who lost her baby.

That really pisses me off!

What the hell is wrong with people?

Is shopping EVER that serious?!

I am not shopping today. I have no interest in dealing with the "crowd effect." I'll shop some other day. The stuff will be there and I'll probably only go grocery shopping.

rant/

The View was encouraging people to shop today to stimulate the economy. Even if we all only spent $10.

Sounds good.

But a lot of the people who are camping out at shopping outlets around here at 1AM aren't doing it to stimulate the economy, although it will have that effect, and plan on spending much more than a few bucks. One lady said "money is so tight, we needed to be here early to get these good deals." Ummmmm...if money is so TIGHT, why the hell are you shopping?! How about doing without these luxury items? How about telling the family that this will be a different kind of Christmas this year and focusing on other aspects of Christmas? Geesh....:rolleyes:

/end rant

You couldn't get me to go to those early bird shopping sprees on a bet. They should have locked everyone in the store and arrested them.

That is absolutely horrible, what a disgusting way to behave. Seriously, How do you care about getting to wal-mart early more than if you trample someone to death???

what a sad day for civilization


Yeah, I need to go grocery shopping but I don't want to.

Money can be tight, but and still have an excess. I mean nothing wrong with buying Christmas presents even in this situation if you budget your money correctly. It's not like she said she was in line for gifts, but didn't even have the money for next months rent.

Also, my own mother has been telling us that our money is tight, or where broke, or poor since I was little, and the fact is that both my parents make money that most American’s can only dream of making and they're just completely full of sh!t.

Terrible story, though, I don't buy the miscarriage story. NO paramedic would diagnosis a miscarriage and say "There's nothing we can do. The baby is gone." That's absurd! I think that shopper misheard what they told the woman.

No. But some people think that having $300 in an account after bills are paid counts as "excess." That counts as living paycheck to paycheck. The average American (who is out shopping right now) doesn't have any wealth accumulated and is living paycheck to paycheck.

If budgeting money when "money is tight" means living paycheck to paycheck, the presents should not be bought.

The NY Daily News sucks eggs, you guys...
 

Look what I found!

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...cal&id=6529135

It seems that the baby is fine, and the woman was 28 weeks along. It would have had to take a major blow for someone to miscarry at 28 weeks with no hope for the baby at such an early stage.

Let's keep in mind that this is what the New York Daily News (hardly a paper of record) reported about what went on in a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, NY, on Black Friday. We're kinda scraping the bottom of the barrel here, IYKWIM.

What I said was that the woman never claimed to be living paycheck to paycheck. My point was that the phase "money is tight" is a very lax term, which may be used even by someone who we wouldn't consider as not being wealthy.

Even if somebody was living paycheck to paycheck, I don't see any crime in tightening money which would go towards other possible things and using it towards Christmas. I could honestly see a somewhat detrimental effect on a child if they grew up in a household which didn't have a Christmas celebration, when everybody around them was. That’s something a child would honestly remember forever. I'm not talking about an absorbitant amount of money, I'm talking about maybe $100 budgeted towards Christmas.

This term is thrown around a lot and sometimes refers to not having as much money as the individual may have in the past, but it doesn't necessarily mean you are living paycheck to paycheck.

I'm a broke college student. I'm still debt free, and would have no problem spending what I would consider large amount of money. The other day I just happen to spend $175 on some sneakers, and not a money trouble in the world. But even I consider my money as still being tight. Odd thing is, I’ve heard people say buying sneakers for $175 is dumb, but is it no different then buying that $400 X-Box, or that $600 handbag?

Whew...that makes me feel better. Thanks for that update.

I'm now half as pissed as I was.

I knew it! Shenanigans!

My thoughts EXACTLY

Uh...ok, Lango.

My comments stand.

I think I love you. :D

This is what retailers get for encouraging the chaos that comes with 4 am openings. They WANTED this kind of craziness - it creates an illusion of demand, driving more people to "BE THERE BEFORE THE STORE OPENS!" I hope Wal-Mart and other retailers that participate in this ridiculousness get a lot of bad PR for this. Enough is enough. For the first time in many years, my mom and I are not doing our traditional "girls day in the city" lunch/shopping trip today; although we never went to the big box stores on this day, we just decided that we didn't want to deal with the craziness considering we aren't buying as much this year.

...so what am I so afraid of
I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for
I think I love you isn't that what life is made of
Though it worries me to say that I never felt this way

This thread has me thinking of my childhood. I wasn't one of those kids that got gifts and trinkets during the year. There was no money for that. I remember taking a blank notepad (my mom was/is a teacher) and running around outside like I was Penny from Inspector Gadget. We didn't have cable any time when I was growing up. We got a VCR as a gift when I was 15 or so.

At Christmas time and birthdays, my parents would have my brother and me give them a list of the things we really wanted in order of importance. My parents would then go down the list from the top and figure out which ONE thing they could afford to get that we really wanted.

I was listening to Michael Baisden the other day and they were talking about Black Friday, Christmas and the economy. He was telling parents to give their kids air for Christmas. LOL. One woman came on and was explaining how she was going to tell her kids that money's tight and they might not get everything they want. Then she said something about how they "get things throughout the year" so they have nothing to complain about. :rolleyes:

Let me put it this way.

If you personally would live your life only using the necessities and pinching every penny even if you didn't have much to start out with, then you sir are a cold fridge person.

Life is to short not to live a little.

Thanks for the link!

I've always felt that you have to be a special kind of stupid to get involved in those "door busting specials", but I think the stores are crazy for holding them, too. Exactly how much more money do they plan to make by opening up five hours earlier than usual? Wouldn't a lot of the profits be eaten up by paying the workers overtime, or hiring extra employees?

ETA: I will admit that I'm not a fan of crowds, period. Put money in their hands and not even "goodies" to go around, and it can quickly become a riot!

Animals! :mad:

Seriously?? Is that high def TV so important to you that you would trample someone in order to get your hands on it? Are you going to kick back in your comfy sofa and enjoy your HDTV with some popcorn while another family grieves this Christmas? I hope it was worth it.

Dirtbags! Some people just don't know how to control themselves. :mad:

.....Kelly :mad:

Don't bother. My comments stand. ;)

$175 sneakers = dumb and selfish
$400 X-Box = dumb and selfish
$600 handbag = dumb and selfish

Giving the money we waste on ourselves to people who are starving to death and/or can't afford college and/or need medical attention, etc = good for the soul.

I don't get $175 for sneakers. I wear designer shoes (Michael Kors, Bobbi Blu, Ettiene Aigner) and carry a designer purse (Kate Spade), but it's because I buy classic styles on S-A-L-E (thank you DSW).

On the topic of spending what you don't have - I have a friend at church that can ususally barely pay her rent, yet every time I see her, she's got Starbucks coffee and pastries. I feel ripped off even buying McD's new coffees because I have a perfectly good espresso maker at home.


PS...go ahead and say it....I'm CHEAP.

It's not cheap, it's wise and being a good steward of your money. People like Langox510x are chasing a false reality that tells them luxury means a higher quality of life. If you feel the need to purchase things to "live a little," I really do feel sorry for you.

But you're going from one extreme to the other - there's a middle point between "pinching every penny" and being able to "live a little."

I didn't grow up with a whole lot, and even though my wife and I do fairly well, we're not going to be spending a ton of money for Christmas presents this year. The problem is that people don't take a long view of things - you should look beyond the next month, and try to figure out how to make sure that things are ok over the long haul.

If you can truly afford it and buy expensive things that you and your loved ones will enjoy, then that's not a problem in my mind. But, using all of your accumulated savings to buy holiday gifts is just asking for trouble.

My family had money but we were taught early on that having money doesn't mean that the money is to be spent in excess. Happiness isn't contingent upon buying STUFF. So if there was a family change of some sort, we wouldn't blink because we didn't NEED gifts. We loved dancing and singing to Christmas records (David Frost and Billy Taylor/The Temptations Christmas...don't hate :)) and hanging out around the fireplace.

Decades later, I love that my parents did that. And now my family only gives Christmas gifts for the grandkids/nieces and nephews who are 5-14 years of age. No grown folk expect Christmas gifts, but if folks give it is completely up to them. As my nieces and nephews get older, they will also be taught to enjoy themselves without being obsessed with what's under the tree. They eventually need to learn that mystical Santa isn't giving these gifts--hard working family members are and sometimes hard working family members have more important things to invest their money in.

For all the broke ass people out there, whomever you are, regardless of why you're broke and whatever broke means to YOU: Be forward thinking. And if you have children, think of what you are teaching your children about money and life (i.e. happiness is contingent upon buying STUFF and NOT buying STUFF means that you're miserable and don't understand how to enjoy life.). :)

I heard some stores were giving coffee and doughnuts to waiting customers. I assume this calms some people down.

:) Precisely.

Or...

Keeping the money in your bank account for necessities or less expensive luxury items (DSW (AlphaFrog :)) and TJMaxx are great) = smart

Investing the money so you can accumulate more wealth and not rely on income = smart

It's amazing that this stuff needs to be said. I guess there is a lot of irony in Black Friday.

My husband and I have talked about how we're going to deal with Santa Claus and commercialized Christmas. While we're not opposed to parents telling their children about Santa (because imagination is certainly important), we'll instead focus on the aspects of Christmas that are directly related to our faith. For one thing, we're going to continue some of the traditions from our own families (including the annual telling of a story my father wrote as a gift to my mother called "Gifts of the Magi" - similar name but completely different story from O. Henry's). But, we're also going to be creating traditions of our own including something - which hasn't been decided upon yet - related to Saint Nicholas of Myra. One thing I would really like to do is to have my future children select clothes and toys of their own that they'd like to give to children who are less fortunate. I've always found that giving gifts is so much more fulfilling than receiving them.

Indeed. I'm somewhere between working class and lower middle class, but I still don't live paycheck to paycheck. My focus on giving comes out of my experience that I think I need more than I really do. I have no doubt that God will provide everything I need (while I may not always live at the same level of luxury) and that generosity goes hand in hand with accumulating wealth. Charity and tithing to the church is a large part of my worldview. I don't personally believe in wealth-building separate from giving.

When my husband and I sold some property in North Carolina, we gave 10% tithe plus offerings, which represented well over $10,000, to charity. I haven't missed the money at all. In fact, it's essentially been replaced. The same scenario keeps playing out with each decision we make. (<--My blatant encouragement to everyone to start/keep thinking about charity as a duty.)

ETA: Do people actually understand what we mean when we say "stop living paycheck to paycheck"? It seems that if that's all you know, you won't know how to do things differently. I'm sure it's a little different for everyone. For me, it's calculating expenses on an annual basis and saving the necessary amount out of each paycheck to pay for the expense when the time comes. The money that I save over time makes money for me through interest until I have to spend it. I also have pure savings that is not attached to a future expense. And I have investments and real estate that I've been blessed to inherit. I realize that is not something to be taken for granted.

Not to take away from the worker who was trampled, :(, but this is interesting. :)

Santa Claus stopped being cute for me around the age of 9 or 10. I think I caught my parents and older brothers removing gifts from the closet so I knew there was no Santa. Then my parents started giving us money and allowing us to shop for our own gifts--mostly clothes for school and a couple of video games. So we knew that Santa wasn't doing that. More and more the focus became less on gifts and more on spirituality and family. And we had FUN!

Anywho, it's not cute to be 13 and think there is a Santa. :p That goes beyond imagination. Kids need to learn that they need not be thanking Santa for anything, unless they know that Santa is the dynamic duo of God's blessings and their family's love and generosity. :)

Yeah, nothing like caffeine and a sugar rush to keep people calm.

I now completely and fully understand why we always started our Christmas baking on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

I think I was 6 or 7, around first grade age, when I realized it, although I had earlier suspicions. There's a Judy Blume book, "Fudge-A-Mania" that reveals that there is no Santa Clause. I went into the kitchen, where my parents were sitting, and announced loudly that I knew the truth. We never had big Christmases, so it didn't really shake my foundation or anything like that.

I admit, I am one of the crazies who start shopping at midnight on Black Friday and this is why.....
Our local outlet mall opens at midnight on this day and most of the stores have amazing sales. I use this opportunity to purchase necessities mostly and a few gifts. Here is an example of what I got this year:

18/10 Oneida Stainless Steel Flatware service for 4 $7.00
(originally $60, on sale for $20, 50% for shopping at midnight, another 20% or so for spending over $50)

Oneida stoneware place settings for 4 $5

9 pc anodized aluminum cookware set $35

7 pc. bakeware set $7

Mens Slacks $8.50 originally $115
(on sale, then 50% off, then 40% off again, and then an extra percent off for shopping at midnight.)

Polo Ralph Lauren Chino's $24

Lacoste sweater $13

This is why I join the Midnight Madness crowd, however I have never waited in line for a store to open or rushed to get a particular item. I browse and find amazing deals on random items that we can use. So I am on my way to helping my college students set up their apartments at a fraction of the cost it would otherwise be.

I am deeply saddened by this event in New York and am dumbfounded that people did not stop to help the Wal Mart empolyee. My condolences go out to his family, friends and coworkers.

Back in my day, we used to only get one special present that we asked for specifically. Of course, there'd be other little surprises, but not this huge toy-soaked fest that a lot of people have now. My niece and nephew, for example, tend to get a LOT of stuff, but their parents aren't together anymore, and that explains the 2 Christmases they get.

I think a lot of this stuff comes down to priorities. I remember kids in school who would come to school without a proper coat, but they all got Nintendos back for Christmas of 1989.

As far as Santa goes, I really wanted to believe, but I never could. My nephew never even tried.