Any compulsive shoppers?

[flcl]

This was something that I used to struggle with in the past. I was certain that I was bi-polar (I'm not) because of my compulsive shopping habits. I would shop on-line to help me feel better. It was so bad because I would constantly get packages and have no idea what was in them. While I still love on-line shopping, it is nowhere near the issue it used to be. Working with H on a monthly budget really helps me keep that in check.

[flcl]

Mar 22, 2015 9:58:07 GMT -5 @giamia923 said:

Mar 22, 2015 9:14:17 GMT -5 flcl said:

This was something that I used to struggle with in the past. I was certain that I was bi-polar (I'm not) because of my compulsive shopping habits. I would shop on-line to help me feel better. It was so bad because I would constantly get packages and have no idea what was in them. While I still love on-line shopping, it is nowhere near the issue it used to be. Working with H on a monthly budget really helps me keep that in check.

Thanks for sharing! Im really struggling bad with this lately even though DH has been trying to keep me on a budget for a while now... we constantly fight about my spending habits. Did anything else help you with this??? Thanks again!

Hey--I'm sorry you're fighting with H about it... do you have an idea why you're shopping so much?  I mean, I typically love shopping but in the past, there were on many occasions where my shopping was out of control.  Now, I've gotten a lot better.  There are still a few times here and there where I could do better, but compared to even a year ago, it's gotten more manageable.

I had to find replacement behaviors.  I also had to really stay on top of my treatment for depression since I had more shopping issues when I was feeling really down. I'm sorry I don't remember but do you currently see anyone?

Another thing that helped was giving myself some wait time.  Since I always did my shopping later at night on-line, I would put everything I want in the cart and then immediately close that window.  I'd wait till the next day to check the cart to see if I still wanted those items.  After a while, a day turned to a couple, a couple turned to a week and so on.  

Do you actually go out and shop or are you an on-line shopper?  If you go out, try doing something else that gives you the same satisfaction.  If you go on-line, try making it harder for yourself.  I changed my CC (so I didn't have the number memorized) and I wouldn't let any of the places I shopped at store my information. 

Sorry for the novel... I hope you find something that helps soon!  Best of luck!

[booksntea]

I hate in person shopping but I have had an amazon addiction, i think the main thing for me is trying to cut back on the impulse buys, so I sometimes load the cart but then don't pull the trigger fora few days that way I can rethink the purchases.

[juliayadda]

I was a shopping addict. I used to work in a clothing store. It was like working in a crack store. I was enabled with my discount, given excuses with need to rep the brand at work. I constantly had their bags in my car, and in my house.

I used to hide it from my significant other. I would take off the tags and hang it in the closet so it looked like was always there.

Not working there has helped a lot. Plus having to pay full price after my heavy discount.

I now avoid malls unless I need something. I do not know my credit card number. If something has a paypal option though...

I am still a work in progress.