Shopaholic tips please

lilian1977

Thanks for this thread, I got myself debt free nearly 2 years ago by being really strict with myself - now I'm debt free I still can't really justify buying things for myself, case in point I was on my delayed honeymoon a few weeks ago and OH kept saying he wanted to buy me a memento, I couldn't find anything I wanted or needed. In the end I asked for a small fake flower in a pot for my bedside table, which was only about £6!

However, as I'm now expecting, I'm finding myself buying things for the baby as if I will never be able to buy things again. On the one hand, I'm justifying it by saying that they're all things I need and now won't need to buy when I'm earning less, but on the other hand I've wound up with far too many nappies and already have presents put away for baby's 4th birthday!

So I need to stop this. It doesn't help that I know my CC number off by heart!

MoaningMyrtle

This is great, have been reading the other shopaholic thread but had missed this one!

The two most powerful things that work for me are:

1) I am in a shop and pick up, for example a £20.00 top I like. Then I carry it around the shop for a couple of minutes. I then visualise a £20.00 note in my other hand. I then ask myself which I would rather have, the £20.00 note or the top? This is really effective, it works every time and I put the top (shoes/bag/jeans etc) down and walk away.

2) I always use cash - if I know I have say £100.00 for the week (for food,petrol etc) I put it into sealed envelopes in my purse, it is much harder to physically open the envelope than just get the cash out of my purse, it gives me time to think before I splurge on stuff I don't need. I don't do this very often but it is very effective.

I am so much better, although no way am I cured of my shopaholicism!