Why working retail drains your bank account

By Mary Menzemer, Opinion Editor

Some jobs are more like money eaters than money feeders. When you work at a place that sells really fancy-schmancy things, there is pressure to buy the merchandise and look the part.

A trend among name-brand retailers in regards to their employees, is that the employees do not receive a very large discount. The usual amount is around 30 percent, and you usually cannot combine sales with your discount.

Working at such a place requires a certain kind of fashion. You have to look like a mannequin every day you go into work, and if you normally do not dress that way, then you will not fit in.  So, in order to fit in, you spend money on dresses, skirts, scarves and all kinds of stuff you don’t need, just so you can look the part. You can end up spending hundreds on stuff you will only wear once, or will only wear to your job, just so you can quit within a year or two.

Goodwill, Village Discount, and thrift shopping is the way to go anymore.  Shopping at second-hand stores is fantastic for the environment and easy on the wallet. Spending $50 on a t-shirt is ridiculous and unnecessary. I mean, that’s a lot of coffee. Surrounding oneself with high-class looking individuals can make one feel inferior, like chopped liver hanging out.

It’s crazy how much of your money is spent when you work in retail. With all the unspoken pressure, you can end up spending more than you realize. Impulse buys are easier to make in a large setting where employees are doing the same exact thing. Take your hard-earned money and put it in your gas tank, or in a post-college fund.

Clothing will degrade, and go out of style and it is not worth spending a ton of money on.