Today is arguably the BIGGEST day of shopping of the entire year (the one that could be argued is the day before Christmas, when apparently stores sell more of their inventory than any other day of the year), as stores everywhere have huge sales on all their inventory. As such, it is the one day that I prefer not to go shopping. Having to pay a bit more for stuff later on is worth it to me not to have to deal with the masses of people that surface to shop, and the hours spent waiting in line. The only reason I have ever gone to the stores on this day is to people watch. If you don't believe me, you should try it. It's absolutely stress-free (or mostly), costs nothing, and is downright fascinating.

A few years back, I learned of a holiday started by "Culture Jammers" called Buy Nothing Day. It usually happens the day after Thanksgiving, though this year it seems to fall on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The idea behind it is to not give in to the corporate schemes. Instead, spend the day with family or friends, really living and enjoyiing what you already have in life. For me, it's a convenient fit, and more coincidence that I take part in this ordeal. But I like my reasoning too.

I'm not one to simply jump on the bandwagon of either the shopping or Buy Nothing Day, but I like the idea of Buy Nothing Day because of it's basic philosophy of simply living. I like the idea that you can be happy without having to buy stuff. What can I say, I'm a simple guy.