Predator

There are a few times in your life when you are most susceptible to predatory marketing. Since I am still young I have run across three times when I feel that people really try hard to sell you things that you don’t need. (there are quite possibly more than this)

Encounter number one, graduation. Whether this is from high school or college marketers gather together to capitalize off of your hard work. You find yourself buying things that you never thought you needed but now wonder how you would ever live without. Marketers say buy this $80 frame to commemorate all of your hard work, and this keychain, and this “collector’s” tassel, and these overpriced announcements. If you are not careful you will end up spending more on graduation than you did on Christmas. Yikes!

Encounter number two, wedding. One image I can’t get out of my mind is the donkey faced (really, his face very closely resembled a donkey, the oversized dentures contributed to this) diamond salesmen, stalking around the counter feeding Kevin (who was a valet and struggling actor at the time) lines about how this would be the MOST important purchase of his life, and he better make it big because women only care about huge diamonds and not the men they are about to marry...right? ( Yucky sexist attitude!!!) What? You can’t really afford a 10karat marquis cut diamond? No problem we have FINANCING! And real men finance big rings they can't afford because they love their fiances so much. Though this talk ruffled my lovey's feathers a little he didn't fall for it. My ring is not 10karats but it’s beautiful and I love it! And the best part is, it is completely paid off.

After you make it past the purchase of diamond ring don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. The predation is far from over. Stop by a wedding show and you will meet vendor after vendor marketing you things you never thought you would need, but suddenly want/need very badly. Don’t fall for it! The wedding is NOT worth going into massive debt for. Sure you've been dreaming of this moment your whole life but it is after all just one moment in the big story that will be the rest of your lives together. Besides the details aren’t what make a wedding beautiful; the commitment to your spouse is what REALLY matters. And just think, that beauty is so often lost in all the bellyaching over whether or not the table linens you picked perfectly match the Gerber daisy centerpiece, and hissy fits on the wedding day because flower arrangements differ slightly from what you thought they would be, not worth it! Fortunately we were able to dodge that bullet and left the ceremony and reception with no outstanding debts.

Encounter number three, birth of child. I was AMAZED at the list of “necessary” items I was told I needed for my baby. I found myself wondering how cave infants ever survived. I soon learned that you don’t NEED special blankets for swaddling, rectangular ones work just fine for that too, if you take time to learn. Some of my more experienced and wiser friends and family assured me that infants need surprisingly little when they are first born. So we have spent time and money trying to focus on what we need and just a few of the extras.

This task of weeding through what is and is not needed was VERY difficult, but I believe I have narrowed down the list to a reasonable size. So I have FINALLY registered, YAY! I will admit not everything on the registry is necessary. I included some things that I think will just be nice amenities to have, like a wipe warmer.

If you would like to check it out we are registered at Babies r Us (http://www.babiesrus.com) go to “find registry” then type in our last name, first name, city and state (Murray, UT) and it should pop it right up. You can also stop by your local Babies r Us and ask at customer service and they should be able to help you bring up a copy of our registry.

So beware of those who stalk around the happy moments of our life, like lions in the grass of the Savannah they’re just waiting to jump in for the kill.