Emma McLaughlin Quotes

A man with a credit card is in hock to his own image of himself.

I used to buy nice clothes and drive a nice car when I couldn't afford it. But I spent all my money doing it, and now I don't have to. I like nice things. I like to travel in a certain style. I like to live in a nice place.

There is an attitude that we should be able to have everything. No, you shouldn't be able to have anything. I'd like a helicopter, but I can't afford a helicopter, so I don't buy one. People are buying stuff they can't afford on credit. I bought my Ford hybrid with cash.

We spend money we don't have, on things we don't need, to make impressions that don't matter.

The easier things are to buy, the more we consume.

Buy what thou hast no need of and ere long thou shalt sell thy necessities.

I honestly don't know how many pairs of shoes I have - about 100 in use. It sounds so bad. I splurge when I work hard.

Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want to impress people they don't like.

Everyone wants instant gratification: you have to have everything your parents had right away.

My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary material goods and bizarre generosity with family, friends and even strangers.

I'm a massive shopper. Topshop, Urban Outfitters - I'm pretty at home on the high street.

In Los Angeles, I'm always in Fred Segal. It's become a ritual. I have lunch and then buy lots of things I don't need. Usually tons of clothes for the kids that they grow out of in 10 seconds.

How much of this junk shall we buy?

We spend our way to the poorhouse. We buy giant TVs and iPads. Our children wear nice clothes thanks to high-interest credit cards and payday loans. We purchase homes we don't need, refinance them for more spending money, and declare bankruptcy, often leaving them full of garbage in our wake. Thrift is inimical to our being.

Under the old system - which is now so archaic that a lot of people can't remember it - if you wanted money you had to go to the bank and take the money out in cash form, and you couldn't take out money that you didn't have. But with the credit card you can spend money you don't have, and that is just so tempting.

We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And every so often, we shop because we need something to wear.

If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.

I don't like credit cards. They make overspending very easy. They can make life a lot more complex and stressful.

I would have people send me shoes and I had 40 pairs and none would fit in the dorm room. People would come by and be like, "Yo, I've been looking for these shoes." I was like, "I'll sell them to you for $300 right now." I'd sell them, save up $4,000 to $5,000, go to the mall and just buy a bunch of new stuff.

I walked inside Macy’s and faced the pathetic spectacle of a department store full of shoppers, none of whom were shopping for themselves. Without the instant gratification of a self-aimed purchase, everyone walked around in the tactical stupor of the financially obligated.

If you buy the things you don't need, you will soon be selling the things that you need.

We live in a culture built on debt, so we are encouraged to have no self control.

Spending is an addiction.

I try not to always use self-check-out and things like that!

My credit card company says I have an outstanding balance. I'm flattered.