For most people, the weekly shopping is just an ordinary task. 【小题1】 When I travel abroad, the first thing I do after dropping my bags off is go to the grocery store (杂货店).

The variety of products in different countries fascinates me every time I travel somewhere new. 【小题2】 Another surprise in Malta was their selection of ice cream available even in the smallest grocery stores, the best of which was a pack of delicious ice cream sandwiches.

By wandering around a grocery store in another country, I can imagine what the lives of its citizens are like. In Italy, I saw one aisle (过道) filled entirely with different types of pasta. I smiled to myself and thought that Italians really do love their pasta. 【小题3】 Because I can see the types of things that Germans might buy on impulse (一时冲动).

【小题4】 But it is important to get involved in the daily lives of a country’s citizens and know more about them through grocery shopping. I can watch kids begging their parents for sweets. Or watch couples pick up snacks and drinks for a party on a Friday night. 【小题5】 Indeed, it’s a chance to slow down and imagine what people’s lives are like, and find that they are not so different from our own.

For many people, buying a luxury handbag is not an uncommon purchase: perhaps just as common as buying a blouse at Target Corporation (TGT). While the appeal of luxury goods is undeniable — the leather is soft, the logo is flashy — the price tag can be off-putting. Unless you’ve got a good job with a high salary, or have developed fantastic personal savings habits, buying luxury consumer goods can be cost-prohibitive (or create a credit card balance that isn’t easy to pay off).

Consumers don’t behave rationally all of the time. A perfectly rational person would always act in accordance with reason or logic; in other words, a perfectly rational person would always act in their own best interest (including in their own best financial interest).

However, numerous modern behavioural psychology studies have revealed that humans don’t always act rationally. And many consumers who buy luxury goods are not in a financial position to be able to afford luxury goods. The proof of this may be in the high rates of consumer debt that many Americans have. Depending on how you look at it, this phenomenon may be evidence that many Americans don’t always act in their best financial interest.

While a high-quality, durable handbag can be purchased for around $100, some people opt instead to spend thousands of dollars on a luxury-brand handbag that performs the same function and is of largely the same quality.

In some cases, low self-esteem can be a factor that influences whether or not a consumer purchases luxury goods, especially if they cannot easily afford the cost of luxury items. For some consumers, a luxury good can go a long way in increasing self-esteem or providing a sense of belonging.

A sense of accomplishment is another reason why some people buy luxury goods. They want to reward themselves for their hard work by treating themselves to something they typically could not afford.