Why not? It beats other methods such as alcohol, drugs, food, eating disorders, attempting suicide, and beating up your kids. And it stimulates the economy to boot. I think I am doomed to this tendency, it runs in the family. The year that my dad lost his job when we were little kids was the year that we received the most presents at Christmas. This past year, something really bad happened, and my mom has bought a new house and today, she just bought a new car. It's a reflection of the consumer driven values of our society, but like I said, it does beat the other methods, the only thing that spending money harms is your credit card balance.