'Going to the Mall' video shows youthful excess and overspending

Have you seen the latest teen shopping video? No, it's not a public service announcement of the "This is your brain on drugs" genre. It's more like, "This is your financial future on overload."

"Going to the Mall," a song and video by artists School Gyrls (yes, that's how they spell it), is a three-minute glamorization of excessive spending. It features five girls dressed in school girl plaid skirts who happily talk about their shopping excursions to the mall.

It's reminiscent of the "haul videos" that have become popular on YouTube. They feature young shoppers, most often females, who are showing off their latest purchases and any bargains they've bagged.

In the School Gyrls video, the chorus is this gem: "We going to the mall. We're going to the mall. Going. Going. Going."

They describe their shopping haul: brand new shoes, a bag, pop sneakers, Gucci, Fendi, Prada.

A hip hop dance step follows and they cheerfully sing: "Do the dance cash money, credit cards."

'Part-time jobs but full-time spending'
Some other lyrics:

"We're going to the mall and we're going to buy everything I want."

"Go ahead and charge it."

How are they able to buy all of this merchandise? They apparently aren't asking their parents, which is good.

They declare in the video: "I buy my own stuff cause I'm Miss Independent. I got a part-time job, but I'm full-time spending. They say I need to stop cold turkey, but after Thanksgiving everything's on sale. Oh, I love retail. If you got a bargain, hit me on my e-mail."

"Do the dance ... Ccccharge!"

So, as I watched this video I was thinking that this is what's wrong with a lot of teens and adults these days. They are just spending -- and using credit cards to buy a lot of it. Many also don't have the incomes to support their shopping habits, but they spend anyway and get deep into debt.

Please parents and teens, don't be sucked into the shop and spend lifestyle. You will regret it later when you try to get a mortgage or car loan and can't because you have bad credit.

Check out my advice to another young shopper in this haul video parody.

See related: Don't haul yourself into credit card debt