I've become a shopahalic!

[Changing4Best]

Okay @StellaBlue and @Go Hungry we are all in this together. Thanks so much for joining me in this. I threw out a catalog today that came in the mail without reading it. I just tossed it in the garbage can at the post office. I do that most of the time, but every once in awhile I take these catalogs home with me and say to myself, "Ah, I'll just look through it and then throw it out." And that is how I get suckered in again and again. So I will toss them from now on. I hope both of you can do the same.

Also, I put an item I am returning into the mail this morning and wrote the person who sold it to me and said it was on its way. She had already told me she would return my money and just to send it back to her. Once I get my money back, I will erase Etsy from my favorites list on my computer. And I will tell them to stop sending me emails. No more of that. I will keep my link to amazon.com as they have always been there to help me buy something I cannot buy locally, but need.

 

[HëllaBubz]

In my weight loss group we have something similar.....our motto is "food is not a hug". I guess the same can be said for shopping.

Sound familiar?

 

[Britt.f7]

I'm going through this now. It is very hard not to shop on the computer since I am on it daily. We had, my therapist and I, come up with some ideas, like not purchasing something on line that I can get in a store. So far I'm doing so so on it. A lot of packages came for me the other day and my husband became very nervous, because money is tight. I just bought something for my dad, he doesn't really need it, but I thought it would be a nice father's day gift. My problem too is compromising on what I've bought. Like for a year I bought several purses even though they haven't met up with my expectations, too big, not leather, etc. Then I am constantly looking for a new one to replace the one I've compromised on. I bought one as a mother's day gift, I hope it is everything the picture showed, because then I think I will be satisfied. I hope. It does make me feel better, but not thinking about all the money I spent on useless stuff. I really have to stop. So I will try to do what my therapist said. I don't keep catalogs. So that is good. It's the internet, that tempts me. I try to just delete all my email messages I get for new sales. Hopefully we can support each other. I'm still going to work on it with my therapist.

 

[Friday]

For me... It's a coin with 2 sides: I either don't want anything ("We have done so much, for so long, with so little,that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.")... "Stuff" confuses me, weighs me down, I don't want it, I can make do... OR... It's the overwhelming compulsion to "be prepared". It's comfort, feeling that I have what I need, when I want it. At hand. Mine. In duplicate, triplicate, cached, and ready.

Opposite sides of the spectrum. Balance difficult.

 

[Go Hungry]

@FridayJones I know what you mean. I've been living very simply for quite a long time (3+ years) since my divorce. Now I've got enough to do that comfortably, and everything shiny is attacking me at once. Madness!

 

[Friday]

@Go Hungry. The shiny things are the worst! Whirlies in eyes. Oooooooh. Thank goodness for "save for later" option at Amazon. For true, I make myself wait 1 year for tattoos (have to want the same thing for a year before I'm allowed to get it), and 1 month for anything not book, food, or music. Longer if over XYZ amount (1 month plus wait for cyber Monday sale or other big pennies on the dollar).

My impulses stretch like a cat from time to time... But the limits on the rest keep things mostly in check. Most of the time the "Mine! Now!" is replacing things I've loved and lost another time. Emotions are an erratic thing for me. Precious when found. No regrets. But if it's not physically on my body, I assume it may be lost in time again.

 

[Changing4Best]

Well, I am wearing the new sneakers I ordered and they fit like a dream. Made by Dr. Scholls, they are leather and I had wanted them for a long time before I finally ordered them. I did need new ones and my old ones were ragged and messed up. Also, these new ones have Velcro tabs instead of laces, which I really like. So I am happy I did order them. However, I ordered a green sweater then too, and I did not need that at all! I mean really, I have more sweaters than I need already, so one more was redundant. So I am going to just save money for awhile. I have vowed that I shall not buy anything more than sheer necessities until further notice. Notice of what I have no idea, but I will know when the Lord tells me I should buy something. Until then....

 

[Go Hungry]

Well it was an expensive weekend for me, and it's about to get more expensive today. I went out of town with some friends, and ended up eating out twice, buying overpriced food at the Dollar General and taking in a movie at $20. All told it was probably about $50-60 spent...

Due to other disruptions, I'm basically out of food at home until I can get a ride to the store this evening.. So there's another $5 I'm going to blow for lunch.

I know that this is largely due to poor planning on my part, and I do have money in the budget to cover it all.. But still, keeping anything on that credit card drives me nuts. I hate interest payments, because that's just more money that could be going into necessities. Live and learn (again and again and again).. :mad:

 

[Changing4Best]

@Go Hungry you can pay your credit card bill on time and at least not get a late fee. Pay it the day you get it and pay extra on it toward the principle if you can. They design your minimum payment to be such that you will pay some interest no matter what, but the more of the principle you pay off the sooner, the less that interest will be. What is your interest rate on that card? You need to watch that, as you are paying interest on whatever you cannot pay this month. My husband and I used to pay off our card each month, 100%. That way we paid no interest at all. They hated us I bet!

 

[Mina]

Saw a couple mentions of catalogs and emails. Next time a catalog comes, call the phone number and ask to be removed from their mailing list. You might still receive one or two more since they print them ahead of time, but chances are that once they stop arriving, you won't even miss them (I didn't). Same thing with emails - click the "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email. You can always sign up again later if you want. :)

 

[Go Hungry]

Hey, @SheilaKathy I am normally really good at paying off my credit card in full each month, but the promise of increased income threw me for a loop. I now understand how 85% of lottery winners end up going bankrupt within 3 years of winning the big bucks. The realization that you can actually afford 'things' instead of necessities.. It just inflames the mind with possibility and clouds your thoughts. Nice problem to have, but a problem all the same.

I've gotten much better in the last week though. Gotten a better perspective on it all. My 'fever' is passed, for now; largely due to the credit card bill staring me in the face. That helped knock me to my senses. Strangely enough, this last weekend out with the guys, blowing money on things I would never normally spend it on... That helped too. I saw just how much I had spent, and it made me more aware of how I was spending in general.

All of these painful reminders have helped me get my concentration back. So now I just gotta do the work and pay that beast off. :) My great concern at this time is what to do once it is paid off. After that, who knows if the fever will return. :eek:

 

[Changing4Best]

@Go Hungry Keep in mind that your friends may love you most when you have money to spend on them or with them. Once your money is closed off or no longer available, you find out who your real friends are! Beware.

As to what you will do when that bill is paid off, that depends upon how strong your resolve is. Do you believe in God? There is nothing wrong with asking Him to bolster your resolve. He is strongest when our resolve may be not as strong. I do that and it does help. He gives me the strength. When I forget to ask for His help, is when I get into trouble the most! And it is OK to ask more than once. I do.