How To Overcome Your Shopping Addiction

As a woman, I have experienced a shopping addiction, along with many other women, and men as well. A "Little shopping addiction" can turn into a real big problem. Not only do you find yourself spending more money than necessary, but you'll end up with a load of things that you probably didn't need as well. Shopping addictions most often occur when you find a good sale on something at your local department store, mall, or even online. It is possible that every 3 out of 5 Americans have a shopping addiction that they need to overcome. Most Americans that suffer from a shopping addiction actually DO have to worry about balancing a checkbook at the same time. If you are a shopping addict, just like me, here are some great tips to help you cope with your addiction!

-Put the item(s) on hold. Many department stores, such as JC Penny or Macy's will let you put items on hold for about 1 to 2 days. Putting an item on hold for a day or two can really help you make your decision in whether to purchase the item or not. This will give you time to think if it's worth your money, and will also give you time to see if you can find a better deal on it somewhere else. So while you're shopping around and find something you like a whole lot, put the item on hold, and shop around for a bit. Or better yet, go home. This should eliminate any unnecessary purchases, and help you to stop cluttering un-needed items in your closet.

-Spend time doing something worth while. When experiencing different ways to overcome shopping addiction, I found enjoyment in spending time making money, instead of spending it. On days that I am not swamped at work, I often sign into AC and get myself busy publishing articles. Writing is a passion of mine; I enjoy it as much as I do shopping. With my blog and my articles that I write on many web sites, my passion of writing also earns me a little extra money. I use a lot of this money as my shopping or Christmas money fund. Another passion of mine is reading. Once I find a good book, it definitely keeps me away from the mall and the Internet. I stray away from these because I am kept so busy by cuddling up on the couch and reading a good book. This, by all means, keeps my mind away from shopping. Reading has been a love of mine long ago before shopping ever was. Some people use shopping as an outlet for fun or to make themselves feel better about themselves. Instead of spending ridiculous amounts of money at the shopping mall, a good idea would be instead to find a hobby or something to do that you really like to keep your mind away from shopping.. Don't let shopping become your hobby.

-Limit your time. It's important to give yourself limits. Especially when it comes to time. Shopping can take up a lot of time. Shopping includes lots of decision making, money spending, and finding lots of items that you would like to purchase in the mall. Giving yourself a limit of time will help you cut back on splurging your money. Figure out what stores you are going to visit before you get to the mall, and limit yourself to only a few. Figure out where you really need to go, and where you really don't need to make a purchase at the moment. This way you can save time, and money.

-Limit your shopping trips. The more you visit the mall, the more you will walk past that mannequin wearing that super cute dress you want to buy so badly, but unfortunately can't afford at the moment. This will encourage you even more to splurge and buy it, even when you know you can't. When a woman or man is teased by advertisement, sales, and a certain thing that they may want, the phrase "You only want what you can't have", is true. This will increase your impulse to buy the item as well. This means, limit your shopping trips to sadly about only once or twice, a month. Never make more than two trips to the mall in a month, as there are new Sales going on every few weeks. Any shopping addict will feel an urge to buy. Remember this is the "How To: Overcome your shopping addiction" article, not "How To: Add on to your shopping addiction".

-Limit your money, give yourself "allowance". It may sound ridiculous, but think about why parents give teens allowance. Because if not, the teen would probably put you in some serious debt. Every so often when I get my paycheck, I reward myself with an allowance of $20 to spend on whatever I want. Just because you suffer from a shopping addiction doesn't mean that you have to completely clear yourself from shopping at all. You work hard for your money, so spending it should be enjoyable for you as well. BUT- Having a shopping addiction means that you A) Use shopping as an outlet for stress. B) Have no definite boundaries on what to spend. C) Somehow believe that money buys happiness. D) Have nothing better to do. Which by any means, is that the whole "Allowance" idea should be a reasonable amount that's not going overboard. This is not good for you or your checkbook. Remember that money will not buy you happiness.

-Set a goal for something you want to buy. It's important to set a goal for something you'd like to buy, so that way you don't completely splurge all of your money at once. Set a date of when you will need your money all saved up to go and make a purchase of this item that you want. Do some simple math (or use a calculator). Figure out how much money you will need, and divide it by how many weeks you set your goal to. Then, each week set aside that amount of money from your budget. Example: If I want to buy this purse that costs $40, and plan to buy it in four weeks, I will set aside $10 each week.

-Take cash with you, instead of a card. When you take cash to the mall instead of a card, you are limiting yourself. This is good, because there's a huge difference between cash and cards- carrying cash dollars around with you can't put you in to debt, and can't allow you to purchase anything that is over your spending limit.