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This post is about how to deal with a shopping addiction.
Have you wondered how to deal with a shopping addiction? When it is the end of the month and you are all maxed out on your credit cards again, or have no money left on your debit card? Have you found yourself being up too late, spending money online or on the weekends visiting the mall, yet again, to buy things you really don’t need? Are you stuck in this continuous cycle of shopping too much but are not sure how to deal with a shopping addiction?
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Monitor Your Spending Behavior
The most important thing you need to do is monitor your spending habits. This you can do by tracking your expenses on the regular by using a budgeting journal or app or even a simple spread sheet. You need to categorize all of the purchases and don’t forget to set yourself financial goals. By regularly checking in on your spending habits, make sure to pay extra attention to the unnecessary items you are buying online or at the mall.
By monitoring your spending on a monthly basis, you are more likely to be aware of your shopping. Ignoring it is the worst idea! You need to deal with it outright, even if it is the last thing you want to concern yourself but once you discover how much money you might have spent on shopping, you will have a much better picture.
Control Your Emotions
Usually emotions lead us to engage in shopping too much. It is when we stop buying necessities and start excessively purchasing items that we already have enough of, or, don’t need at all out of emotions. Whether it is because we are sad, get a rush from spending money or consider ourselves to be quite frankly ‘shopaholics’. When we spend money, certain hormones can play a role in supporting our shopping behavior.
Especially social media can have an enormous effect on us. I used to engage in watching hauls and while I was watching the hauls, I would get a feeling inside that I wanted to have that item that was just showcased to me. I immediately felt like I needed the items, I needed to head to Zara for yet another seasons’ “it-item” that quite frankly would be out of fashion within weeks.
Once I noticed that this type of contents effected my in a way in where I would emotionally go out and spend money, I put a stop to it. I no longer scrolled aimlessly on Instagram to follow Influencers, and then get the new beauty or fashion items. I learned to control my emotions with regard to shopping! As a matter of fact, I deleted Instagram (now almost 5 years later) and only selectively and carefully selected the content on other platforms.
Count Your Inventory and De-clutter Often
It is always a good idea to take inventory of your items in your closet. Most people only wear 20% of their wardrobe, 80% of the time. This is a saying I learned early when I wanted to learn more about minimalism and how I could downsize with literally everything in my life related to beauty items and clothing, shoes, accessories. Most of the time I found that I had items that were too trendy for my lifestyle and not very practical and useful.
Dressing in the morning for work was a nightmare, even though I had plenty of clothes, I always felt like I had nothing to wear. So the cycle continued and I would go shopping again. Once I learned more about what my lifestyle consists of and how I could create a wardrobe that would seamlessly and easily fit together, I was not interested in shopping that much any longer.
Figure Out Your Style
Once I had figured out my style based that would go effortless with my lifestyle (neutral or solid colors, better for washing too), I chose not to engage in crazy shopping any longer. Since I had taken inventory of my items in my wardrobe, de-cluttered the most part, I started a Pinterest board to collect outfit inspiration. From there I looked at what clothes I already owned and then added bit by bit.
My end goal was to have a minimal wardrobe with regard to colors, tops, bloused, pants, dresses and shoes, that I would be able to combine endlessly. Figuring out your own style is essential because you want to look at yourself instead of outwardly so that you won’t be buying the next seasons’ new items that will go out of fashion within weeks.
Make It A Budget Category
As you might already know, I live by a budget. A budget is the best way to control your spending, make a plan for your spending and hold yourself accountable. If you are suffering from shopping addiction, maybe a smart idea would be to incorporate ‘shopping’ as a budget category. That way, you would set aside a realistic amount to purchase clothing each month. By incorporating shopping as a variable budget category, you will have direct control over your spending and won’t be allowed to spend more than you had set aside for this category.
Seek Professional Help
If you have a shopping addiction that puts you, or has already put you at financial risk, please do seek professional help. A financial counselor or therapist can support. If you already have financial issues due to shopping addiction, a financial counselor can assist you in going through your debts, consolidating them, and making a plan to pay them off. Ultimately a financial counselor can support you in regaining a grip on your spending.
Sometimes, however, the root to a problem runs much deeper. In this case, there is also help available. You can read more on this here. Therapists and psychotherapists can help you look for the reason why you have a shopping addiction. Sometimes, you need to get professional help and that is okay to do!
Final Note
Whether you can manage to deal with your shopping addiction on your own or with professional help, it does not matter. The main thing that matters is that you realize you have a problem and tackling it.
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