Shopaholics Anonymous (sort of!)

iwanttobreakfree

Hey guys

Thought I'd start a thread for people similar to me where we can provide support help and cheer each other up if needed.

I know I am a complete shopaholic and not just in the usual "comical" sense. I literally have great difficulty in not spending money - these no spend days you guys have - i wish i could do them! I often go to buy things that i think will improve my life, make me feel better - they never do. I pay off credit cards and congratulate myself in doing so only to then the next day or so start spending on it again.

Is anyone else like this?

Nikki

consultant31

I think lots of people could be like this given the opportunity.

The best advice I can give (and what I did myself, years ago) is to cut up the credit cards and don't allow yourself to get another.

Once you start to put some money into a savings account, it's surprising how addictive it can be, watching it mount up.

iwanttobreakfree

Im not saving at the mo as Martin says its better to use that money to pay off debts. I dont know exactly why i feel the need - right now i want to go shop - im not going to but i could quite easily succumb. my problem is I'm ok as long as I'm away from the shops - however i can even go stupid in asda! its ridiculous id love to get to the bottom of it and find out exactly why i do it.

Tustastic

Hello there, you have done so well to total up your debt and get signed up here. According to the DFWs, you will eventually get as addicted to getting your debt down as you were once were to shopping.
In the meantime, make a special effort to keep your receipts so that you can be sure to return unnecessary items to the shops straight away. Don't splash out on anything that you can't get a full refund for. Stick to real shops so you get a full refund ie if you buy online you might be paying delivery costs which wouldn't be refunded.
I used to work with a shopaholic who got it under control by only splashing out on clothes, which were taken back the following week. HTH

Spendaholic_Chick

I'm with ya sistah!!

Like you say, even a trip to Asda burns £20 or £30 quid when all I wanted was a pint of milk and some bread! That's actually been my downfall for a while now, sinc I out weight on I don't like clothes shopping so much, so I spend in Asda!

I did my first online shop with Tesco earlier this week though anthat sems to have helped a bit

Adrasteia01

I've noticed that shopping can be addictive if you do a lot of it in a short space of time. If you hold off for a while you should hopefully break out of the 'mad shopping urge'. Then I'd suggest seeing things in terms of how long it takes you to earn them. For instance, is it worth 5 hrs of hard work to buy a plain looking jumper when you have loads of nice jumpers already?

Just because something is on sale or a bargain doesn't make it worth buying. Quality is better than quantity, and the true bargains are the clothes you will get your money's worth out of over time.

Jewellery is also one thing that can be really expensive and you don't get that much to show for it. One sparkly thing could pay for a whole week of groceries.

You can only wear so many clothes and pieces of jewellery at one time anyhow.

Another thing I did was hang up all of the clothes of mine that I previously had in a laundry pile. I was astounded at how many clothes I actually had. Then I weeded out the ones I didn't want to put on ebay and give to charity shops.

Maybe a good clean out is in order? Life can be better when simplified I think. If you have a lot of stuff you don't use, you could try selling things on ebay.

I find I don't buy anywhere near as much as I once did and prefer it that way. I feel less guilty because I haven't been spending as much money too. Also, I find that when you have a lot of stuff, and focus on the pursuit of buying more, it tends to weigh you down (and not just when you're carrying it home).

Tamara

Quincifer

I'm definitely like this!!
If it makes anyone feel better (or at least not alone in their plight) I had a very guilty day yesterday. Went to Dotty P's for a browse (bad idea in the first place seeing as I have a store card) and found it was having a BOGOF sale! So I had a browse, tried on a skirt...and 3 tops...couldn't resist buying them so put them on my store card (tut tut). Then whilst I was queueing I noticed they had a really nice grey coat (I do need a new coat but I'm not desperate) so I tried it on and it looked brilliant and was cheap so ended up putting that on the card too. I spent £43 in total (not bad for a coat, skirt and 3 tops but thats not the point!) which made me feel really guilty. I then got home and took the coat out of the bag to find they hadn't taken the electronic tag off! So I had to walk all the way back to get it taken off, making me feel even worse about buying it. I could've even returned it but I didn't have the willpower.
So now I feel awful for just adding £43 to my debt

Debt_Free_Chick

iwanttobreakfree wrote: »

I often go to buy things that i think will improve my life, make me feel better - they never do.

Counselling would probably work as you seem to shop to give yourself a sense of worth.

Counselling is a way of getting you to explore what you do and why you do it - and more often than not, you find your own solutions for "problems" like this.

Find a Counsellor - mine (different issue, but to do with low self-esteem) costs £35 a session.

Spendaholic_Chick

Quincifer - I findleaving my torecards at home helps me! I don't want to cut them up cos sometmes they have some great cardholder only deals, so I keep them in a box in the house and only take them out if there's a good offer on (and then make sure I pay it off in full when the bill comes in).

I'm no angel mind, and can spend for England, but I absolutely refuse to pay almost 30% interest that storecards charge :eek:

~*~Vix~*~_2

My god, I know exactly how u feel about being a shopaholic, it was my birthday on friday and I got lots of money and vouchers so I absolutley had to force myself to put the money in the bank and save the vouchers for when I really need new clothes, I actually physically cant stop thinking about them sat in my bedroom, even tho I just got a lot of new clothes for my birthday so I really dont need anything. What I really need to do is pay off my debt, all this and Im only 21 :-S xxxx

iwanttobreakfree

god vix you sound just like me - my dad always used to say money literally burns a hole in my pocket and its true - i cant help myself. plus ive put loads of weight on lately so i have no nice clothes - expensive bags are my vice i just love them - and bonus is they always fit!

I think the whole simplifying things sounds like a good idea. its so frustrating i dont want to be like this at all.