Everyone has passed by an open window, seen something intriguing in their side view, and drooled at the thought of having it for themselves. How about walking the aisles and calculating how much money you would have after purchasing a few not-so-necessary items to pay off the bills next week. We Americans love to buy things; this is just our nature. When we look behind the scenes, is materialism really that great for us, or does it evoke more harm than good? I've been analyzing this problem for a few weeks, drawing resources not only from websites, but also from examples from my own life. Various organizations and individuals have expressed various thoughts to contribute to this topic, including journalists, psychologists, authors, and hobby blog writers. A common author that I have liked to reference in many previous articles in the past is Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me and an “in-between” proponent of materialism. Throughout his book, it's hard to tell whether he's strongly for or against people constantly buying things. Nonetheless, he offers a myriad of different reasoning about how materialism can affect us. Another source I referenced, the New York Time, discusses how shopping affects us not only financially, but emotionally as well. For a source that supports the issue, opinions have been gathered from multiple sites to help understand how, including US News, TreeHuggers (a personal blog), and Huffington Post. But which side is correct? No one is entirely sure, but the analysis will better explain a possible solution. The most obvious part of this topic is the financial point of view. We Americans have such immense purchasing power that we have to buy everything...half of paper...movies, it makes the money run out quickly. It's okay to spend a little, but saving should always come first. Secondly, I like to stand out from the rest of my school; That's what it means to be American... to be yourself! We love being able to express ourselves in our own unique ways, and as a female programmer, I tend to already be diverse. It's nice to know that you can stand out and not have to buy every new item that comes out. Finally, emotional buying helps me feel good inside, as my family has financial problems. I know they won't be able to buy me nice things, so I do it myself, even though I tend to fall into the trap of endless shopping to overcome anxiety. Buying and shopping comes with ups and downs, and even though Twenge talks in Generation Me, "You feel empowered to get the best out of life" (100), the best is really worth the effort?