csaccac on the frontlines for the average consumer.

Post date: Oct 20, 2009 4:46:42 AM

"I have always loved to shop and work in retail;today, I still love to shop but Im learning not to be dissolute as well as not be improvident when it comes to spending my hard earn dollars"---cacjohnson

“From infancy to adolescence I could not predict the outcome of my youth nor the direction or path I would take”---cacjohnson

With two degrees from an accredited state university and several jobs in the retail industry,I continue to learn from others and my past mistakes.Depsite obstacles and road blocks,I dont view all my mistakes as failures but as opportunity to grow, to educate, to inform and to assist other from making the same mistakes.Furthermore,I have stood in the food stamp lines with my grandmother,I have waited outside the church for the bread truck, I have been unemployed,I have slept on the floor of shelters and relatives, I have slept in my car, I have slept in an empty apartment,I have stood in checkout lines at local grocery stores with little money in my wallet,I have walked the shopping malls with no credit cards, I have walked into a department store and have not been able purchase a gift a for family members, friends,and coworkers,I have worked in the educational system,I have written checks with insufficient funds,and I have been denied credit and I have my credit cards declined. I was not born into abject poverty nor was born to an affluent family. I was born as an American citizen to parents whose parents was American citizen and descendants of slaves Today, I enjoy many of the rights and privileges that many of my ancestors fought to secure during the Civil Rights Movement for instance the right to vote, and the right to live in any neighborhood I choose. As result of the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement that also include other rights that's not readily express but commonly known , for example, the right to patron any restaurants in the United States, the right to wear clothing and shoes of your choice and the right to shop at various stores Department stores. In fact, Afro-Americans shopped before and during segregation and of schools This phenomenon of shopping, bargain hunting and clipping coupons has been going on for years in my family ,especially among the women in my family. Living on a budget,and shopping during sales, as I reflect on those days,essentially, it was a way life or as it would be termed today a "lifestyle". As young child ,I did not consider my family to be poor but middle class. From the days of my pre- adolescence and adolescence, my family members have always shopped in grocery stores,malls, and local neighborhood convenient stores.On most shopping outings, my family members mainly shopped for groceries, school clothes, and work shoes.Therefore, it's not surprising that I continued the family tradition after college and into my adulthood. Admittedly, my shopping habits would immediately change after graduating from college. At the point of graduating, I was no longer consider a dependent, eventually, the reality of the real world begins to set in no longer would I be surrounded by close friends or have the choice of living in a dorm room.Although, I knew I would have some difficult in acquiring employment after graduate because I did not have an automobile, at the same time, I knew that as soon as I obtained employment and bought a car it would lessen my strife and alleviate many of my worries. Incontrovertibly, I could not have prognosticated many of the obstacles I encountered after graduating from college. Yes,it's true, while in college, I frequented the malls on the weekend,partied with friends,patroned and many of the chain restaurants all as part of the college experience without really considering my future after graduation.And like clock work ,I continued shopped each semester for the basic necessities such as food, clothing,linen and shoes. ". ....On the fronlines for the average consumer,I am not a stranger to adversity and living on the bare necessities...