shopping

About 20 per cent of US retail sales happen around Christmas. Perhaps, economically at least, this news would be positive, if it were not...

Consumerism threatens to destroy us and our world, warns Brendan Pratt. Here’s what we can do about it.

Do you sometimes feel that Christmas has become an insane season of too much expense, too many parties and too much food?

Do you think you need a big house with state-of-the-art appliances and a huge pay packet in order to be happy? An overnight stay on Amantani Island on Peru's Lake Titicaca taught Kathryn Page that the enjoyment of life can be found in a simpler things.

Keeping up with the Joneses has become less expensive recently, with the shift of production to developing countries. However, there are hidden costs, as Kristin Thiele reveals.

Market research suggests that most shoppers take only three seconds to choose various foods in the supermarket, which is hardly enough time to consider value, nutrition and convenience equally.

Bruce Manners looks at the lives of the rich and famous and discovers that, not only can money not buy happiness-it sometimes leads to grief.

Nathan Brown considers an obsession described as our new national religion-and the alternative.

We've all seen them in the shopping centre- kids who control their parents. But what do we do when we get home and discover they are our kids? Susan Davis makes some helpful suggestions.

Outward-focused living: life as God intended

Ever wondered why it's so hard to say no to advertising? Christine Miles investigates the theory behind the sales pitch.