Support needed from fellow shopping addicts!

moneysavingtomcat

As someone who has had this problem, the advice I can offer is as follows:

Never, ever, ever go shopping when you are feeling down. The likelihood is that you will end up buying something for the short-term hit of having something new.

If you are out of work, never go shopping to kill boredom. If your days seem empty, then it is so tempting to go shopping for the sake of something to do and perhaps interact with a shopkeeper. The TV isn't a good substitute for work, but at least it doesn't cost anything.

Never hide bank statements. Shopping is much easier if you have no idea of the scale of the money you are spending.

jennikitten

My tips...

- Hide away a lot of your stuff, particularly things you've never used/watched before. Get them out in 3 or 6 months' time and it's like you've got a load of new stuff (and it also shows you how little stuff you really need - most of it is distraction anyway). If you really want to go all out and you have a lot of stuff, make up boxes with different things in and it's like you're opening an order.

- Avoid surveys and product review sites that will just make you want to buy more stuff - you'll often end up reading about things you've never heard of and your shopping list will just grow.

- As said in an earlier post, don't impulse buy. Sleep on it for a few days or a week and you probably won't even remember half the stuff you were going to buy.

- Make the effort to return non-essential items if you do slip up. I'm pretty lazy about that but it just ends up being more unnecessary clutter!

- Be conscious of the tricks shops do, like putting offers on unnecessary items at the end of aisles, or junk food and magazines at the checkouts. Reverse psychology here 'They WANT me to buy all these unnecessary things, I know their game so I won't fall for it' helps me.

- If you miss magazines, arrange with a friend that you'll each buy one and then swap. This can also work for things like clothes, books, DVDs etc.

- See what you can make bath/cosmetics-wise...there are plenty of recipes for things on the net like lip gloss, bath bombs etc. and they are much cheaper and more rewarding that way (they also make nice presents with a bit of nice packaging).

- Re the advice about filling an online shopping basket and then not checking out - make sure you clear the basket if you're logged into an account as many companies will use the info to send you emails about products you might like or remind you you have an order you didn't complete. Probably best to unsubscribe from any newsletters and offers you get in your inbox as well.

Missmaterialgirl

Sorry for my lack of posts the past few days. I have actually been on a hen do...which leads me to this post...how expensive are hen do's!?!? I had one this weekend and one this coming weekend, it's just how its fallen, a bit like buses, none for ages then two come at once.
It seems now that (myself included on my own hen do) a night out down the local pub doesn't cut it now for hen do's...this weekend we've been for a meal, cocktail making, a night out and stayed in a Malmaison hote. Dont get me wrong, the whole weekend was lovely and Ive got so many nice memories, but I seriously felt under pressure to be a millionaire. But a few things did help, so I will share them here:

-Pre pay for as much as possible. If you ask the person organising it if you can pay for a different thing every few weeks then you dont get hit with a huge bill in one go.

-Don't be too proud to tell someone that you're skint and ask if they will help you not go crazy spending this weekend. I knew the girl I was sharing a room with and told her I was skint-she revealed that she is in a similar situation and it actually felt good to talk about it a bit and also support eachother.

-Its a tough one, but I alternated alcohol with a soft drink-being less hammered helped me keep on top of my spending and also I was able to remember more of the night!!

-The hen do was actually a weekend but I went home the morning after the night out. The other girls wanted to go shopping in the city but this would have been carnage for me. The night out and meal was enoug, it didn't make me any less of a friend, and I went home feeling more in control and less worried sick!!

Hope this is helpful xxx