Shopping addiction diaries

changingmyways23

I have been a shopping addict for several years at this point, and I desperately need to change my ways. 

My current debts are:

• Ratesetter loan - £4,364.55
• Monzo Flex - £83

Total: £4447.55

(It was higher than that but I managed to pay some CCs off this year.)

I spend money on silly things I don't need - mostly clothes and beauty products, but could be anything that takes my fancy in the moment!

Trying to take some accountability by recording my daily expenditure on here.

Brie

Well done on paying off the CCs and looking to get yourself sorted out.  

Do you know what makes you shop?  Is it depression or loneliness?  I know this can be a difficult thing to peg - frankly I don't know all what really makes me spend money.  I know there's a sense of "I'm going to help that struggling shopkeeper" or "if I have that superior geegaw I will be truly good at using any geegaw".  Frankly I can't afford much of the first and the second would be more successful if I simply used my current geegaws more frequently.  

changingmyways23

Hi @Brie

Good question, I think there's a lot of reasons really... Low confidence, anxiety, past trauma, to name a few! I spend a lot of time shopping for my 'fantasy self', and I also order things just for the dopamine rush and looking forward to that parcel arriving. I need another, less destructive source of dopamine but it's so difficult!

vampirotoothus

Hi I can say from experience that you can get the same rush when you return the goods and see your cc balance go down. Good luck on your journey V x

Sarahwithlove

Have you tried doing surveys etc as a way to pass the time? 

Cloth_of_Gold

How about recording your daily expenditure and your debt. Have a goal to reduce your expenditure by £X or X% per week and chanelling the money you would have spent into debt repayment. You will gradually see both your expenditure and your debt go down. Seeing it in black and white makes it more tangible and you will get a really good feeling from that. Also, writing down what you are spending each day will really bring it home to you what you are spending your money on and how much which will, I think, help you take control. 

Also, try to limit what you spend on credit cards and use cash instead. Spending on cards doesn't feel like spending but using cash does and you can see your reserves going down in a very concrete way, which you can't so easily with cards, which might make you think twice about that next purchase.

changingmyways23

My expenditure for 30/11/23

• Bus - £3.50
• Cat litter - £12.05

Total: £15.55

changingmyways23

Sarahwithlove said:

Have you tried doing surveys etc as a way to pass the time? 

I do Prolific sometimes!

changingmyways23

Thank you for the tips @Cloth_of_Gold Planning on using this thread as an expenditure diary!

I have two CCs, I think I will close one of them down to reduce temptation. Agree that cash is generally a better idea. At the moment I am using the 'pots' function on my bank account to put my budgets into (e.g. £50 to pets, £200 to groceries, etc) so I have a clearer idea of what's left.

Cloth_of_Gold

changingmyways23 said:

Thank you for the tips @Cloth_of_Gold Planning on using this thread as an expenditure diary!

I have two CCs, I think I will close one of them down to reduce temptation. Agree that cash is generally a better idea. At the moment I am using the 'pots' function on my bank account to put my budgets into (e.g. £50 to pets, £200 to groceries, etc) so I have a clearer idea of what's left.

Good idea - and good luck. You've already paid off some CCs so your definitely heading in the right direction.

changingmyways23

My expenditure for 1/12/23

I had the day off work, so I went out to a coffee shop with my husband and did some shopping. I purchased a couple of pairs of thick winter socks, as I needed some new ones.

• Public transport - £7.75
• Coffee shop  - £12.85
• Socks - £20
• Dinner ingredients - £2.55

Total: £43.15