5 Ways to Overcome Shopping Addiction in a Recession

If you're struggling with the urge to buy things but have no disposable income, here are some ways to overcome your shopping addiction (or at least curb the impulse until you can afford to shop for real).

1. Overcome shopping addiction by going to the library.

Where else can you go where you can take home books, CDs, movies, and magazines for free? If you're hurting for a new novel or six, get your broke butt down to the library. You can browse for hours, touch everything you want, and even stand in line and "pay" with a card. Sure, you have to take back your "purchases," but that's a great reason to go back and do it all over again.

2. Overcome shopping addiction by window shopping at night.

This is a trick that helps me cope with having no spending money. Take a walk at night or early in the morning when all the shops are closed. Walk down a street with boutiques or furniture stores (or whatever else grabs your fancy). Stop and look in all the windows and pick out one thing from each. Take a friend and discuss which couch would look best in your living room, which sundress you could wear to a barbeque, or which knickknack would collect the most dust. You get the picture.

Window shopping satisfies the need to make shopping decisions and reorganize around a new purchase. When the shops are closed, you absolutely won't be able to whip out your credit card, but you'll be able to exercise the part of your brain that's addicted to choosing the perfect thing.

3. Overcome shopping addiction by making lists.

We all want to be optimistic about our financial futures, so why not shop on paper? Make lists of all the things you will buy in the better days to come. Organize your lists by priority, by price, or by category. When a holiday rolls around, ask for an item or two from your list. Everyone likes gift suggestions because it makes their shopping easier. And you'll have the satisfaction of crossing things off the list as if you'd gone shopping yourself.

4. Overcome shopping addiction by cooking.

If you have to buy groceries anyway, you might as well make it an adventure. Take up cooking or baking, and you'll have an excuse to buy that shiny purple eggplant calling to you from the produce aisle or that brand of butterscotch chips you've been meaning to try. If you start making all your food from scratch, you'll have a great time tracking down the ingredients at the store and "playing" with your purchases. Plus, cooking and baking everything from scratch will save you money in the long run! Just make sure your shopping addiction doesn't cause you to buy food you won't use.

5. Overcome shopping addiction by sending away for free samples.

When I absolutely must have something superfluous, I go online and start "shopping" for free samples. Did I necessarily need a drug prevention poster for my living room? No, but that's the beauty of the impulse purchase. It's hard to resist any deal that free, and when the stuff starts coming in the mail, you'll be surprised at all the funny and useful things you got for nothing.