Retail Therapy

Are you a compulsive shopper? The holiday season seems to be the prime enabler for what may be society's most tolerated--- if not accepted and even promoted--- behavioral addiction. Here are 5 helpful tips to keep you from turning into a shopaholic wreck,

They're hard to ignore. what with larger-than-life signs and big bold letters catching you off-guard and forcing a double-take midstride. That four-letter "S" word seems to send people into mass hysteria every time its single syllable is heard or seen. "SALE."
   We're surrounded daily by advertisements enticing us to buy the latest styles, handbags, or cellphones, or to go to the mall for clearance sales. We're pressured by friends and coworkers to keep up with a certain lifestyle. And, if we're honest, we always seem to want what we can't have.
   Shopping is necessary, for sure, but there comes a point where it, like everything else done in excess, becomes unhealthy. It's called "Oniomania," a term that originated in the early 1900s by psychiatrist Eugene Bleuler and Emil Kraepelin, although it goes by a lot of other more common names like "compulsive shopping," "shopaholism," or "compulsive buying."
   Compulsive buying, or CB, is a little-known clinical addiction and impulse control disorder. It usually begins in the late teens to early adulthood and often co-occurs with other disorders like mood and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, other impulse control disorders, and personality disorders. For the most part, shopping becomes that individual defense mechanism when coping with stress such that it starts to clearly have a negative impact in other areas of their life. As with all addictions, it begins to damage their relationship and, naturally, their finances (and potentially the finances of those they've take loan from) as well.

Many forget the easily disregarded advice we're told growing up, "Budget, budget, budget." Dependent on our parents for food and other necessities, and armed with a shiny, new credit card. we hit the malls ready to swipe that piece of plastic at whim. Little by little, the bills add up--- and who would know any better?
You sure aren't hurting anyone. If anything, you're probably the most popular amongst your group of friends, using the latest gadgets, and treating them to dinners like there's no tomorrow. but before you know it, you don't even have a single centavo to your name.

The scene need not to be so grim. Identify your problem early on and immediately begin to cut back on unnecessary expenditures. If need be, seek professional help. The single piece of advice you can definitely ignore? "Shop till you drop."

Here are the tips:

Distinguish must have vs nice to have
   If you want something you can't afford, thing what else that money could buy: a week's groceries, a month's rent or a weekend away. That will put things to perspective.

Change your desires
   The things you want change throughout your life. If you've been shopping, shopping, shopping for ten years. It's unrealistic to stop completely. Instead try slowing the pace. Go to the shops, walk around, have a lovely time, enjoy the whole experience then head to the lipstick counter. Instead of buying a Chanel suit, buy a Chanel lipstick; it is a treat that isn't going to break the bank.
   Look at what you spend each month, work out what you can really afford and set yourself a budget.
And if all else fails, go out carrying really heavy bags, then you simply won't be able to carry anything else.

Control your emotions and get organized
   Shopping is emotional, but you need to get your head involved, too. Look in your wardrobe and make a list of what you actually need. If you have five pairs of red shoes, do you need another pair? In case you were wondering, the answer is "No."

Spend other people's money
   Shopping with friends is a great way of still enjoying the thrill of the chase without having to make a purchase. It can also be a real bonding opportunity. Helping your friend find something nice is just as rewarding as helping yourself.

Save then buy (Minus the credit card)
   There is something exciting about saving up for a special treat. Bring back the piggy bank! Label boxes with "Shoe fund or "Shopping fund' on them. Start saving for things you want instead of putting them on your credit card. The moral of Confessions of a shopaholic is that credit card debt can ruin your life.