Are you suffering from clinical shopaholism? Do you find yourself tweeting hashtag shopaholic? Or maybe you are currently searching a desk drawer next to you for some loose change. In any case, it’s time to admit you have a problem. It may not be deadly, but it will certainly kill your bank account. Today, however, you can start changing your ways by taking the road to recovery. Here are our tips to combat this “disease”:
When you see that dress that makes your heart stop, just remember that it’s like having an elementary school crush. You think it’s the greatest thing in the world and you think you know…but you don’t know. Try to keep perspective in those spell-binding moments.
Fight your cravings by shopping in your own closet. You never know what gems might be hiding that you forgot about. Who knows, maybe there’s some old things in there that still have their price tags attached so it may even mimic a real shopping experience!
See if your item can pass the TEST. Develop a sequence of questions to ask yourself about any garment you are interested in before you buy. Questions such as, “What can I wear this with?” “Am I really going to wear this more than once?” “Is the feather look really for me?”
Go shopping with a plan in mind of what you want to buy. A grocery list, if you will. With that image firmly established in your mind, you will be less likely to be swayed by the whims of Anthropologie’s or Free People’s perfectly assembled mannequins.
Leave the credit and debit cards at home. If you go shopping with cash only, you’ll limit the damage from the get-go. Plus, handing over cash feels more like you’re giving up real money versus virtual money. Besides, if you’re a shopaholic, your cards need some R&R.
Go ahead. Go to your favorite store online and add everything you absolutely love to your shopping cart. Then go to checkout. The total amount will scare your away from shopping the rest of the day, guaranteed.
DIY tutorials are popular for a reason. They’re a great money saver and another remedy for your shopaholic tendencies. It’s a fun and satisfying hobby, and you can create couture designs for a fraction of the “Milan price.” The best part about making your clothes is that it is really, really time-consuming, which leaves less time for racking up debt at the mall.
Don’t make excuses for those 3-year-old items that have been hanging in the closet, never worn or never seen. If it hasn’t been worn by now, it probably never will. Use these items to resell for good value back. If it is new, then it’s worth something to someone else.
Lastly, never shoplift clothes to save money. Winona Ryder tried to do this and look what happened to her career afterwards. Ironically, the legal fees and lost wages you will end up with will be far more costly than what you thought you would have saved in the first place.
Follow these simple tips, and hopefully, you’ll be cured!
Written by: Ariel Oye & Nived Ravikumar