by Breanna King

As the only child of 1）doting parents， the newest fashions were always in reach for me. I liked having the latest clothes and a particular look. It helped me 2）fit in with a certain crowd. Sometimes I felt I wouldnt be accepted if I didnt create the right image with my clothes and shoes. Plus， as I grew up it felt good to discover my own style.

I would go shopping all the time. As time went by， however， the things I wanted were getting more expensive and my mothers answer was no longer “yes”to everything.

One day I asked my mother for a little extra money to go shopping. After giving me a long speech about not spending too much on clothes， she decided to give me a 3）credit card so that I could learn to handle money like an adult. It sounded like a great idea to me； I wouldnt have to ask her for money all the time. Id be free.

A few days later， she handed me the card and sat me down to talk about my spending limit. “Dont go crazy buying everything you see. Im paying that 4）bill every month—remember that. Your limit is $150 every month. Think you can handle that？” she said.

“I can handle it， youll see，” I said， already thinking about the first thing I was going to buy.

Cha-Ching注1！

For the first two months， I only used the card to buy small things—a shirt 5）here and there and treating my friends to a meal. Once I got used to having the card， I started going shopping every week， always managing to find something I wanted but didnt need. I felt like I was on top of the world， buying everything I saw.

I went from going to H&M;注2 to more expensive stores like Macys注3 and Bloomingdales. While I was spending freely， I forgot who was paying my bill.

So far， I wasnt going over my limit and there were no complaints from my mother. But one day， I was shopping with my best friend and saw a pair of UGG注4 boots I wanted that cost $250. They were very popular， and seeing others with them made me want them more.

My friend helped me make my decision by saying， “You know you want them and youll look cute in them—just get them.”

At that moment， nothing could stop me from getting them， not even the bill or what my mother would say about it. I bought them even though they were way over my limit. For the first few days， I hid them from my mother because I didnt want her to make me return them.

Of course， she would find out sooner or later， but I decided I would worry about that when the time came. For now I was just enjoying my new boots.

6）Busted

When the credit card bill came and my mom found out about the boots， she was very 7）upset， and called me over to yell at me and let me know how disappointed she was that Id 8）violated her trust. She asked me to give her back the credit card.

“Whats so special about them？ Why couldnt you get a cheaper pair of boots？ There are a lot of other brands besides UGGs，” she said， raising her voice.

“There are， but I only want UGGs，” I said， feeling 9）defensive.

“So you buy a pair of $250 boots because your pride wont let you buy anything else？”she asked.

“I guess thats what it is，” I said.

“Well， youll learn you cant always get those expensive things you want，” she said in a 10）scolding 11）tone as she walked away.

Redefining Whats Important

Once she took my card away， things changed a lot. There were fewer shopping trips， and all the things I wanted seemed out of reach. I knew she wasnt going to give me the credit card back or buy me the expensive things I wanted， so I was in 12）desperate need of a job to support my spending habit. After a few months of looking， I got a job working part-time at a 13）bakery.

But it was about more than just having the money to support my habit. I also knew my mother was right； life is about more than material things. Having the latest clothes and shoes gave me a sense of importance. Image was everything to me， and my image was about having what everyone else had. Now I am more worried about paying my bills on time and having money for the future.

Now that I am older， image is still important to me， but having the latest of everything isnt. Im on my own， working， saving for college， and spending my own money instead of my mothers， and that makes me feel proud of myself. Now its more important for me to save my money.

I have a lot more 14）responsibility and adult 15）expenses now， so I focus on buying the things I need first and worrying about wants later. This has helped me realize what you wear doesnt make you who you are.

作為獨(dú)生女，我的父母很寵我，所以最新的時(shí)裝對(duì)于我總是觸手可及。我喜歡最新款的服裝，弄一個(gè)特別的造型，這有助于我融入某一個(gè)特定群體。有時(shí)候，我覺(jué)得不靠衣服鞋襪創(chuàng)造出恰當(dāng)?shù)男蜗?，我就不?huì)被人接受。另外，可以隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，不斷發(fā)掘自己的風(fēng)格，這感覺(jué)真好。

我會(huì)經(jīng)常去購(gòu)物。然而，隨著時(shí)間的推移，我想買(mǎi)的東西越來(lái)越貴，而媽媽也不再每次都說(shuō)“可以”了。

一天，我向媽媽多要一點(diǎn)零花錢(qián)去逛街。她對(duì)我說(shuō)了一大通叫我不要亂花錢(qián)買(mǎi)衣服的話，然后決定給我一張信用卡，讓我學(xué)習(xí)像大人那樣管理錢(qián)財(cái)。這個(gè)主意對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)好像不錯(cuò)；我不用經(jīng)常向她要錢(qián)了，我自由了。

幾天之后，媽媽把信用卡遞給我，然后坐下來(lái)給我講額度上限的事情?！安灰灰?jiàn)到什么東西就亂買(mǎi)。每個(gè)月的賬單由我支付——記住這點(diǎn)。你的費(fèi)用上限是每月150美元。你做得到嗎？”她問(wèn)。

“我能搞定的，看著吧，”我說(shuō)。這時(shí)，我已經(jīng)在想要買(mǎi)的第一件東西了。

花錢(qián)如流水

最初的兩個(gè)月，我只用信用卡買(mǎi)小東西——隨便買(mǎi)一件T恤或請(qǐng)朋友吃頓飯。當(dāng)我習(xí)慣了擁有信用卡之后，我每個(gè)星期都要去逛街購(gòu)物，而且總能找到一些自己不需要但又想買(mǎi)的東西。看見(jiàn)什么就買(mǎi)什么，我感覺(jué)棒極了。

我從一開(kāi)始逛H&M;，到后來(lái)去較貴的商店，如梅西百貨公司和布魯明黛百貨公司。當(dāng)我自由揮霍之時(shí)，卻忘了誰(shuí)在幫我還賬單。

到那時(shí)為止，我沒(méi)有超出上限，媽媽也沒(méi)有抱怨。但有一天，我和閨蜜逛街時(shí)看見(jiàn)一雙標(biāo)價(jià)250美元的UGG雪地靴。那是人氣款式，看到別人穿著它，我就更想得到它。

我的閨蜜幫我做了決定，她說(shuō)：“你也知道自己想得到它，你穿上這靴子一定很好看——買(mǎi)了它吧。”

那一刻，已經(jīng)沒(méi)有什么可以阻止我得到它——賬單不行，媽媽的話也不行。盡管價(jià)格大大超出上限，我還是買(mǎi)下了那雙靴子。頭幾天我不讓媽媽看到，因?yàn)槲也幌胨形胰ネ素洝?/p>

當(dāng)然，她遲早會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)的，但我決定到那時(shí)再說(shuō)，我現(xiàn)在只想好好享受我的新靴子。

計(jì)劃敗露

媽媽收到信用卡賬單后發(fā)現(xiàn)了靴子的事，她很不高興。她把我叫去訓(xùn)了一頓，她要我知道我失信于她令她多么失望。媽媽要我把信用卡還給她。

“這靴子有什么特別的？為什么不能買(mǎi)一雙便宜一點(diǎn)的？除了UGG還有很多其他牌子，”她提高嗓門(mén)說(shuō)道。

“是有其他牌子，但我就想要UGG，”我答道，覺(jué)得要為自己辯解一下。

“就因?yàn)槟愕奶摌s心，所以你就只能買(mǎi)一雙250美元的靴子了嗎？”她問(wèn)。

“我想就是這樣，”我說(shuō)。

“好吧，你以后會(huì)知道不可能永遠(yuǎn)得到你想要的那些昂貴的東西，”她用責(zé)備的語(yǔ)氣說(shuō)道，隨后走開(kāi)了。

洗心革面

媽媽收回我的卡后，情況大大不同了。我逛街少了，而且我想要的東西似乎變得遙不可及。我知道媽媽不會(huì)把信用卡再給我，也不會(huì)再給我買(mǎi)昂貴的東西了，所以我極其需要一份工作來(lái)維持我的消費(fèi)習(xí)慣。經(jīng)過(guò)幾個(gè)月的尋找，我在一家面包店找到了一份兼職。

然而問(wèn)題不僅僅是如何掙錢(qián)來(lái)維持我的習(xí)慣。我也明白了媽媽是對(duì)的；生活不單只有物質(zhì)。以前，最新款的服飾讓我覺(jué)得自己像個(gè)大人物，形象對(duì)于我來(lái)說(shuō)就是全部，而我的形象就是得到其他人擁有的東西?，F(xiàn)在我更擔(dān)心的是按時(shí)還清賬單，以及為將來(lái)存錢(qián)。

現(xiàn)在我長(zhǎng)大了，形象依然對(duì)我很重要，但擁有最新的東西已經(jīng)不再重要。我現(xiàn)在自力更生——打工，存錢(qián)讀大學(xué)，花的是自己的錢(qián)而不是媽媽的——我為自己感到自豪。現(xiàn)在，存錢(qián)對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)更重要。

我現(xiàn)在承擔(dān)的責(zé)任更多了，個(gè)人開(kāi)銷(xiāo)也大了，所以我現(xiàn)在會(huì)先買(mǎi)需要的東西，然后才去考慮我想要的東西。這讓我懂得衣著并不決定你的內(nèi)在。