When you pass by a Bloomingdales, do you have to look in the other direction so you won’t go inside? Have you ever blown through a few hundred dollars, and not known where it all went at the end of the day? Or maybe you can’t go out for your lunch break without coming back to work with something you purchased, no matter how small it is. Did you identify with the hit movie, “Confessions of a Shopaholic?” If you can answer yes to even one of these questions (and be honest with yourself here!) you may be a shopaholic.
We don’t tend to think about being addicted to shopping; after all, addictions are only for alcohol, gambling and smoking, right? Wrong! You can be addicted to a lot of things. Basically, anything that you can’t give up without a problem, and anything that produces an uncontrollable urge inside of you can be classified as an addiction. People are addicted to video and computer games, TV, the internet, stealing, and of course, shopping.
Before we move on with this subject, I have to admit that I too can identify with a few of those above mentioned questions. I have lived through the secrecy, the shame, the calls of the creditors, and the credit card over limit fees. So what qualifies me to write about overcoming your shopping addiction? That fact that I have already followed my own advice and overcome my own addiction to spending qualifies me.
Step # 1: Get rid of your plastic. You don’t have to cut up your credit cards, but if you choose not to, then you should at least give them to a good friend for safe keeping. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you will just leave your cards at home when shopping – you might succeed for the first couple of weeks, but there are no guarantees!
Step # 2: Get limits. Get together with a friend who does not share your addiction, and make a realistic budget that will allow you some spending money while paying your monthly expenses and putting money down on your debts. Then, take that same friend with you to the bank (for accountability reasons!) and ask them to put a cash withdrawal limit on your debut card. You can get them to put a daily or weekly limit on your debit transactions as well. Make sure that you need both of your signatures to raise or temporarily cancel those limits.
Step # 3: Ask that same friend to help you make an expense journal, so he/she can hold you accountable for your spending. They can meet with you once a week (or daily if you are really addicted to spending) and go over your purchases with you. Save all of your receipts, especially for the cash purchases, so that you can account for every penny spent. If you don’t trust yourself, even with these restrictions, you can implement a consequence plan, which can let your accountability partner lower your spending limits if you are not honest, or you don’t stick to your budget.
Once you have lived like this for a few months, you will become used to living on a budget, and you will finally know the peaceful, wonderful feeling of having money in the bank, and your bills paid. Just think – you will come home from work and not have to listen to and delete countless messages of bill collectors!