I think I have a problem with compulsive online shopping

peachespeaches

I go on sites like HDUK and MSE looking for bargains and have started to buy things I dont need just because its a bargain. This is leading to trouble between me and my hubby as he keeps saying stop spending. We are going on holiday soon, the holiday is paid for but we have to get the spending money together and to be honest if I could stop spending we would have it. I dont use credit cards, been there, cut them up etc. How can I rein myself in? Its almost like OCD. It has taken a lot of guts to post this and admit I have a problem so please post only constructive comments.

daska

How do you pay for things? Can you cut up your debit card as well?

csh_2

Are you addicted to being online in general and this comes from that? Perhaps find something else to occupy your online time so you're not on the grabbit and HDUK?

GlasweJen

My uni friend never had any money and always used to buy online because she didn't connect online spends with real spends. Eventually the rest of the house realised and to stop her spending we copied the number from her debit card onto a piece of paper and scraped a group of the numbers off the front of the card, it still worked for real shopping but she couldn't use it online except when she was buying a planned purchase and got the missing numbers off of one of us. I think this will only work on electron cards as the others have bumpy numbers.

sillywilly

I know what it can be like. You just have to ask yourself do I REALLY need these things and will I use them or have a future use for them like presents.

At the beginning of the year I spent £300 in a couple of months on clothes from MandM because the sale was just so good. I haven't worn a lot of the clothes or shoes and i couldn't really afford it but couldn't resist the prices.

It doesn't actually matter because I have enough clothes and shoes for a year or 2 so that only works out at £25 a month over a year.

I nearly got tempted by Play sale for a new camera and asked myself - do I really need a new one. It may be better than the one I have now but mine is still fine. I cannot justify spending out for a new one.

Also Ebay Daily deals recently had a Linda Barker cake baking set and a Hells kitchen mixing bowl offer. Even though both nice I had to put my serious head on and realise that, although a good deal I really didn't NEED them or could JUSTIFY spending out on them

Just try and get tough with yourself and maybe don't look at the deals then you don't know what you are "missing out on"!!

Janey3

I would disconnect your computer altogether for two weeks and have a complete break from it then you won't be tempted and the urge should be less.

tabskitten

swap your addiction- get addicted to SELLING stuff on ebay instead!!

minimoneysaver

I am trying that at the moment tabskitten. I have been awful at spending money recently. It really hit home when I got my credit card statement and it was full of amazon purchases.... not the best feeling in the world. I guess it should have occurred to me sooner. I have spent the last month driving backwards and forwards to the post office to collect parcels that have been delivered to the house when I have been out at work.

tabskitten

minimoneysaver wrote: »

I am trying that at the moment tabskitten. I have been awful at spending money recently. It really hit home when I got my credit card statement and it was full of amazon purchases.... not the best feeling in the world. I guess it should have occurred to me sooner. I have spent the last month driving backwards and forwards to the post office to collect parcels that have been delivered to the house when I have been out at work.

so make it your personal mission in life to sell until you break even on the spending that was unneeded.
make a list of items bought which were over indulgent- tot up the value- and sell like a mad thing until you get there!!

Pixiechic

Hi peachespeaches,

Just the fact that you now acknowledge that you may have a problem should now make you more aware of your spending. Good for you for seeing it before it causes all manner of problems. You have done the exciting purchasing bit and have now reached the not so much fun anti climax bit of the bill or the statement or the bank balance. I think that many of us have been there at one time or another I never used to be very good with money, I'm 28 now and am just starting to be a lot more aware. I'll tell you what I do just to keep a canny eye :cool: I take out enough money to see me through the week, that includes travel and food, I make my own lunch. I hardly use my card at all. I write everything I spend in my diary and take great delight if I don't buy something and I have small total of expenditure! If I buy online, I don't often as I am still a bit suspicious of it for some reason I did buy some fushias from Suttons the other day though online. If I feel that I want to go on a blow out, I go onto the clothes websites and add everything I want to the basket, at the end I see the huge total and then think of what else I could do if I waited and saved it, and that's me done and pleased that I didn't blow it all! As in two weeks it would all be 'out of season' or 'on sale' anyway! This isn't a problem that you can't change and it sounds as if you are already onto it so good luck .

peachespeaches

Thanks for all your helpful remarks. I know my debit card number off by heart including code so its not effective to cut it up. I also need that card to take out enough money to pay for essentials.

I need to get back into the habit of selling stuff on ebay I suppose. I just gave a whole lot of stuff away to a friend who is having a hard time, she wanted to do a car boot. I cant do a car boot (wont go into why) but I can use ebay.

I must admit, just confessing to all this has made me stop and think.

Im going to spend less time online and try a little gardening now the weather is getting better.