Who is the bigger consumer: men or women?

I think pop culture has burned the image of the shopaholic woman into our collective consciousness. Whether it's the bored housewife shopping with kids in tow at the mall or the teenage girl with her "daddy's" credit card running up the debt at the boutique, we all think women are the big spenders.

Men, on the other hand, don't seem to shop nearly as much or as often. I know I don't go to grocery or department stores nearly as often as Sarah. In fact, I probably go shopping no more than a handful of times per month. BUT when I do go shopping, I often spend much more than my better half. Today, for example, I spent over $120 at Walmart (yeah, I prefer high class shopping venues) on fishing gear and a 2008 fishing license (I'm going fishing off the coast this Saturday with some work buddies). If I think about 2008, most of what I purchased were high ticket items such as an iPod, TV, gaming accessories, etc. Also, I tend to do more shopping online for books, video cables, etc. which show up in the mail after the money has been spent and are quickly put to use quietly behind a cabinet tucked into a book shelf, thus covering up the evidence of my mini-shopping sprees.

Then there's the whole question of hobbies: Sarah scrapbooks and reads while I like fishing, skiing, computers, electronic gaming (we don't like to term video games anymore, thank you very much!) and so forth. I have WAY more hobbies and they cost WAY more and, when I buy things to go along with said hobbies, such as rental fees, fishing licenses, gear, etc. I look at them as necessary expenditures, thus avoiding my association with that ugly, feminine verb "shopping."

In the end, we probably spend roughly the same amount of money shopping, but I'll be the first to admit that my shopping generally revolves around my hobbies while Sarah's shopping is for true necessities such as food, clothing, etc. When she does by that occassional item for herself, usually a book or some new shoes, I praise her in an attempt to ease the guilt of having just spent $15 on my monthly GameFly subscription.

So, do women spend more than men? Probably. Do men have more expensive hobbies? I think so. Does every couple differ in regard to spending habits? Absolutely. My question, then, is whether or not your experience is similar or not.

Click here for a post I found in which the guy describes a very similar experience to ours (I found this after I typed up my blog post by the way).

All the riches in the world

Hello! By the time you read this hopefully I'll have placed the new title I'm working on for the blog at the top of the page. Since it's The Todd Pad, I'm trying to come up with something related to Mr. Toad's adventure/wild ride. My dad is the original, or O.G., Mr. Todd and now I am Mr. Todd the second. In fact, one of my father's students recently transfered to Fontana Middle School and he has my class for Language Arts so he's now had both Mr. Todds! The first day he sat there dumbfounded staring at me.

Anyhow, the real reason for this post is to relate a sublime experience I had this week. On Tuesday morning I intercepted Carter as he made his way toward our room in order to allow Sarah to sleep for a few more minutes. I turned on the Disney channel and went back into the bathroom to finish getting read for work. When I came out, I passed Carter on my way to the kitchen and, for some reason, I turned around and looked at him. He looked beautiful sitting there with the light from the television dancing in his bright eyes. I said, "Carter Todd," he looked up a bit surprised and with a slight look of concern since his full name is often used when he's being disobedient, "you're a good son. You are a good boy!" He looked up at me and a big smile broke out on his face.

"I love you daddy!" he replied in booming voice. I smiled and told him the same. As I turned back and walked toward the kitchen I glanced outside and it hit me that no amount of money in the world can buy what I, and many of you, have in our homes: genuine love. As the perpetual rat race goes on, it's vital to have moments like that one to put everything into perspective.

I am so grateful and cognizant of the importance of families. Although not everyone has a traditional, nuclear family, we can all have a family of some sort. Indeed, we are all one great family. I wish all of you happiness and peace...and moments like the one I described.

*AMENDMENT:
I created the "beta" title for the blog. As you can see, I have abandoned the "Mr. Toad" idea. Instead I tried to work in images of foxes since the name Todd is of Scottish origins and means "sly or foxlike." The colors don't go with the blog exactly, but it was fun and makes the blog more unique. I'd eventually like to recreate the blog from the ground up, but that might have to wait until I can dedicate a significant amount of time.