What’S with All That Stuff,Cacjohnson!#@!: (A Shopper’S Guide to Better Shopping)

By Jamala M. Johnson

Partly autobiographical,Whats with all that stuff,cacjohnson!#@! (A Shoppers Guide to Better Shopping) a shopping guide with a twist thats a very real,a very personal and a very sincere discussion with the author about stuff plus shopping tips she learned from family and friends at a very young age.While it becomes apparent that the author had a love for stuff and shopping at a young age, she digs deeper into the reasons that she attributes to loving stuff and shopping. Perhaps "Men are from mars and Women are from venus" but when it comes to shopping the author aver "I shop;therefore,I am." Above all,the author quickly becomes a shoppers guide to better shopping with the assistance of some very familiar family habits including grocery shopping,back-to-school shopping & holiday shopping tips,ultimately,to expose "whats with all that stuff?"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477100790

Jamala M. Johnson

A graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Jamala Malaika Johnson is Founder & President of csaccac Inc. An organization developed in 2010,csaccac Inc seeks to assist, educate ,inform as well as provide various services to disenfranchise and disable consumers between the ages of seventeen to forty-five in the area of jobs,housing, debt management, credit, and health options. Most importantly, its founder strongly believes in the organizations mission statement: "dedicated,committed,brazened,engendered,imbued and aplomb" to assisting each shopper. Before founding csaccac Inc, Jamala Malaika Johnson worked in retail, customer service and taught two years in the Florida public school system. Through out the years, Jamala Malaika Johnson has been an educator, motivator, and entrepreneur. Ms.Johnson, also serves as Chief Editor and writer of the csaccac Newsletter. Created just for shoppers & consumers of all ages at different stages of shopping, the newsletter offers helpful tips to better shopping.

Book preview

What’s With All That Stuff, cacjohnson!#@!

(A Shopper’s Guide to Better Shopping)

Copyright © 2012 by Jamala M. Johnson.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4771-0078-3

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4771-0079-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Contents

Preface

Aforementioned

What’s with all that stuff, cacjohnson!#@!

When a storm that strong and devastating happens...

Pre-adolescence & Adolescence

In the process of writing this book...

Imagine being blind folded...

What would you do if...

If walls could talk what would they say about your stuff?

There’s a place for everything especially stuff and everything has its place including stuff.

I’m more likely to buy stuff when I...

You’ve been shipwrecked on a deserted island, what’s some of the stuff you’d want with you on the island?

Emotions

Why I shop...

A Lesson About Stuff

Brief Explanation of Response

Shopping Forum

MVP: Bad Check Writing

MVP: Tracking Spending Habits & Shopping 101

Shopping 101

Directed Responses...

Closing Section

Social Networking Sites

A Daily Activity

Additional Directed responses...

Reference Material

Vocabulary

About the author

Works Cited

To whom much is given, much is required

Dedication

An extraordinary mom, sister, teacher, and friend, I dedicate this book to my grandmother who loved unconditionally, gave unselfishly to her family and grand kids at the same time who has inspired plus mentored hundreds and to all who had the privilege to know her, share life experiences as well as learned from her wisdom and life story.

Preface

Less than perfect: the good, the bad & the ugly.

As a Consumer Affairs Consultant, Sales and Service Manager, I like to stay current on prices for beauty products, photo processing, and electronics.

Furthermore, I am known to frequent the local Walgreens and Rite Aid in my neighborhood. Often, I walk into Walgreens and stroll down the beauty aisle to compare prices with Rite Aid prices; I enjoy shopping at both stores because they are like mini superstores. Moreover, both stores keep a variety of products in stock, in any case, I love to shop at both stores. Walgreens, a full service pharmacy, for some years, Walgreens had been the place where I had many of my pictures developed. Recently, I visited Walgreens to have some pictures develop. And to my surprise, a former photo technician, and a frequent visitor to Walgreens photo department, I required assistance because Walgreens had replaced the self service photo processing machine with a new machine. While receiving assistance from the photo technician guy, I wasn’t looking my best. After a few minutes, the photo technician and I began to talk; I briefly mentioned I am not a crazy person, and I don’t look like this all the time because of my line of work it is not all fun and games, and it’s not always glamorous,...* Before completing my order, I handed him a business brochure and a business card for the next time. Not often, but every now and then, there are times when I get a fresh lead as a Consumer Affairs Consultant, Sales and Service Manager, and I might walk out of the house less than perfect. Truthfully, I learned, while working to get www.cacjohnson.com off the ground floor, I had to accept the good, the bad and the ugly. Hopefully, when the photo technician sees me in the store, he’ll remember my business brochure and business card.

Aforementioned

On the days that I’m not surrounded and immersed in my stuff, I’m surrounded and immersed in other people’s stuff at the grocery store, pharmacy store, fast food restaurant, movies, gas station, hair salon, nail salon, public bathrooms, seminars, and concerts. Despite, the many messages that life so subtly sends us about stuff __such as stuff is important or you can’t live without stuff, I learned at a young age not to let stuff define me. Admittedly, during the years that I lived with my grandmother and two aunts, I learned a lot about all types of stuff just from the stuff my grandmother had placed in her home. Young and fairly inquisitive, I learned a lot about books, magazines, clothes, shoes, food, and even cooking apparatus. Ultimately, after years of getting and losing stuff, I finally muscled up the nerve to put forty years of what I learned about stuff from my grandmother, parents, aunts, cousins, friends, and co workers in this book. As a result, while writing this book, I learned a lot about my feelings towards stuff including the reasons that attributed to my belief system about stuff and why I shop. Before, I go any further, let me say that this is not a book of excuses, __ if that’s what you’re looking for this book isn’t for you. First and foremost, I began the journey to write this book to share my shopping experiences as well as help other consumers and shoppers evaluate how they feel about tangible stuff meaning the stuff they purchase daily in addition to the stuff that they feel they must have to function everyday. Specifically, while writing this book, I want consumers and shoppers to evaluate their attitudes and belief about stuff as part of the process of becoming a better shopper. And certainly, with the advancement in computer science, technology, tech gadgets, the development of Smart phones, mass marketing, Social Networking sites, and sensationalized television commercials, it’s hard not to notice that stuff is everywhere.

Although, the focus of this book is about stuff, products, items, equipment, gear, goods, junk, things, objects, heirlooms, memorabilia, mementos, souvenirs and just plain old stuff that each of us as consumers and shoppers has had or have chosen to purchase each year and make use of on a regular basis, I want you_ the consumer and shopper to focus on your feelings more than the stuff. One thing I want to make mention of, throughout this book, I direct my attention into two areas getting to the bottom of *what’s with all that stuff?* and helping consumers and shoppers become better shoppers. For as long as I can remember, the women in my family went shopping whenever they could find the time and money. As a small kid, I often observed the effect that shopping seem to have had on the women in my family. Unequivocally, shopping often would give the women in my family a feeling of euphoria and happiness even if the feeling only lasted a day. Immediately, when I began to think about the attitudes the women in my family often emanated towards stuff and shopping, in an instance, I knew it would be best if I began with a glimpse of my childhood instead of beginning with tips and steps to becoming a better shopper. To gather a clear understanding about my attitude toward stuff, I open with a brief glimpse at my pre adolescence, adolescence and college years. At the very beginning, I discuss how stuff impacted and affected my life at each of those stages. And in all honesty, much of what is written in this book I experienced firsthand, veritably, it took me months to gather as well as sort through my thoughts, notes, and scrap paper all while reading other articles and books to make sense of my feelings about stuff. Essentially, this book is a combination of firsthand experience and practical sense, I believe that most consumers and shoppers will find this book to be insightful and an easy guide to better shopping.

For consumers and shoppers who’ve been following my websites for the past five years, you’ll notice that much of what is discussed in this book, I’ve discussed at one point in time on my web sites in the form of articles and blogs with one exception, I’ve included in the book exercises to reinforce the lessons. Besides, it’s no secret ___ shopping is something that American consumers and shoppers perform just about every day.

In previous years, research has shown that nearly all of the shopping performed in most American household had been done by a woman, let’s not forget that men also love to shop, lastly, whether you’re a girl or a guy, this book is for anyone who loves to shop or just wants to become a better shopper.—cacjohnson

What’s with all that stuff, cacjohnson!#@!

After months of shopping in grocery stores, chain stores, making budgets as well as going through the return and exchange process, I said quietly to my inner self that I wanted to get everything out about my shopping habits in the last forty years including the good, the bad, and the ugly.

A Lesson in the Experience: Putatively, generally speaking, from as far back as I remember as a little girl, college had been the place where adolescences went to mature, years later, I would myself attending a four year university with that belief held deep in my subconscious.

The Good: When I arrived on the campus of FAMU(Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University I had no debt, no credit cards, and an old green trunk that held a lot of my stuff with only forty dollars in my wallet that my grandmother had given me to purchase miscellaneous items. Veritably, this had not been the first time I stepped onto FAMU’s campus. In fact, I had visited and sat in on classes on campus at FAMU at a very young with my dad who filled in as a general studies teacher. As a matter of fact both my parents attended and graduated from FAMU, based on their attendance and experience at the university, it had been determined and averred in the rudimentary stages of my upbringing that I would also attend FAMU. Blessed beyond my wildest dreams, my attendance to the university had been made possible with a scholarship from my high school that covered room and board. Most of the shopping I performed during my freshmen year actually happened after my arrival to the university. Back then, I clipped coupons very little to null and often shopped at the two malls located in the city. During my freshmen year at the university, I attended classes during the day, studied during the night, visited dorm mates late at night and in my down time made room to shop. With my new founded freedom, I had a penchant for shopping on a college student budget and a proclivity to over spend each month.

The Bad: Unlike most precocious twenty-somethings’, at the time of my commencement ceremony, I had not refined my budget or shopping skills. An impulsive shopper all throughout my twenties, I had given little thought to clipping coupons especially during the years I attended college.

The Ugly:1997, I graduated from FAMU, a historically black university(HBU) with no money saved, no car, no credit cards or a job prospect insight, I had lived the typical college life__ isolated from the real world with the exception of trips to the mall and seasonal employment when I returned to my hometown during the holidays. The years I attended college at FAMU, my college life consisted of early morning classes, afternoon classes, evening classes, meals in the cafeteria, convocations, seminars, resident assistants meetings, trips to the mall with college friends, trips to the hair dresser, trips to the nail salon, sorority and fraternity parties. Although, many of the on campus activities did not require students to pay to participate this had not been the case with off campus activities. As a student at FAMU,I quickly learned that a lot of the off campus activities required more than just a nominal fee to get through the entrance door, it also required preparation that I had equated to mean a shopping trip to the mall. Of course, living on a college student budget, preparation to attend an off campus activity often posed a dilemma, as a result of limited funds, I often found myself calling home and short of funds each month. In those days, I believed at the root of my dilemma had been off campus activities, credit, and shopping.

The Road to Graduation: The days, the weeks, and the