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cover of episode The Company That Cancelled Christmas

The Company That Cancelled Christmas

2022/12/9
logo of podcast Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
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Susie Hall
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Tim Harford
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Susie Hall：作为Farepak公司的销售代理，她亲身经历了公司破产给众多低收入家庭带来的巨大经济损失，许多家庭因此无法过上正常的圣诞节。她详细描述了Farepak的运作模式以及公司破产后客户面临的困境，并表达了对公司行为的谴责。 Tim Harford：从经济学角度分析了圣诞节消费的现状，指出人们在圣诞节期间的过度消费和礼物选择上的浪费，并结合Farepak事件，探讨了人们消费行为背后的心理因素，如对即时满足的追求和社会压力。他引用了Joel Waldfogel的研究，指出圣诞节送礼存在巨大的“死重损失”，并呼吁人们理性消费，减少浪费。 Lee Stuardson和Margaret Trimble：这对夫妇因女儿去世而悲痛，他们将圣诞储蓄放在Farepak，希望给剩下的女儿一个特别的圣诞节，但因公司破产而损失了大部分储蓄，这加剧了他们的悲痛。 Heather Skinner：作为Farepak的代理人，她不仅自己损失了钱，还需面对客户的损失，最终不得不借贷来确保孩子能收到圣诞礼物，这突显了Farepak事件对普通家庭的巨大冲击。 Riku Shah：一位因Farepak事件而自杀的出租车司机，他无法承受无法为家人提供圣诞节礼物的压力，这反映了社会对圣诞节消费的巨大压力。

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Susie Hall and other families trusted Farepak, a Christmas savings club, to save for holiday expenses, but the company unexpectedly went bankrupt, leaving many without their savings.

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More than 100,000 families - many of them amongst the poorest in Britain - put money aside for Christmas gifts and other seasonal treats in a savings club called Farepak. It wasn't a bank, and it wasn't great value for money... and it went bust. Kids went without toys, and festive dinner tables were left bare. 

Why would someone put their hard-earned money into such a scheme? And what does it tell us about how we often view Christmas as a time for frenzied spending? 

For a full list of sources used in this episode visit Tim Harford.com) 

**CAUTIONARY TALES RETURNS 6 JAN, 2023. HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR. **

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