I’m a shopaholic: how to stop wasting money

For the first time, the psychological term “shopaholism” or “oniomania” (from the Greek words onios – “sale” and mania – “madness”) was introduced into everyday life by the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin. Another key achievement of this specialist was the description of the signs of manic-depressive psychosis and schizophrenia.

Shopaholism has clearly expressed signs, the stable presence of which signals dependence on constant shopping. So, you are clearly at risk if:

• even when you have almost no free time, you seize the moment to go shopping (in the evening, during lunch, instead of meeting friends, on weekends);
• you have a lot of purchases in your closet with price tags that have never been worn, used or opened;
• you make purchases unnecessarily. At the same time, it is often not important what exactly to buy: the fact itself is important;
• you are a devoted fan of sales. Know exactly all the periods of seasonal discounts, know which shopping centers hold promotions, track price reductions in online stores;
• the process is important to you, not the result. That is why immediately after shopping you experience disappointment and regret;
• you need to constantly demonstrate new clothes to others, including through social networks, or at least discuss them with others;
• you are aware of most trends (primarily in the fashion market), are passionate about fashion websites and magazines, subscribe to opinion leaders in social networks;
• if you have not bought anything for yourself for a long time, you begin to show signs of apathy, which quickly pass after the first visit to the stores.

When diagnosing shopaholism, it is precisely the fact of the recurrence of symptoms that is important. One-time or several times a year “raids” on stores indicate that the time has come to update the wardrobe, or about the desire to start a new life. This is not a cause for alarm.

You need to start worrying when shopping becomes a bad habit. Some people go to the gym 3-4 times a week, others visit stores with the same enviable regularity, leaving the lion’s share of income in retail outlets or even getting into debt.

The only “plus” of shopaholism compared to other addictions is the absence of direct harm to health, but this does not detract from the importance of prevention and treatment.

Find the root of the problem

There are two groups of reasons leading to shopaholism: external and internal. External – almost 100% “merit” of marketers who are doing everything possible to attract customers and urge to make a purchase “here and now.” To do this, they use discounts and sales. During the global financial crisis, when people strive to maintain their usual volume of purchases without increasing costs, the price becomes one of the main tools to attract customers. Promotions “3 for the price of 2” and gifts for the purchase can be caught in a simple trap: calculating the benefits in their heads, consumers forget that they may not need promotional goods in principle.

Active advertising also works: on television, in social networks and magazines. They convince us: it is simply necessary to buy it, it is important to be stylish, modern and fashionable, to be in trend is an integral part of success. Advertising is increasingly addressed not only to women, but also to men, orienting them to certain standards in their personal and professional lives.

Another external factor is the compliments of sellers. It is important to remember that even behind the sincere praise (“How this dress suits you!”) Is the desire to fulfill the sales plan. Makes you spend more and free access to goods. It has long been proven that in stores that provide consumers with the opportunity to touch the goods, the revenue is higher than through the sale through the counter.

Almost all consumers are “led” to these marketing tools. But if ordinary buyers benefit from them, then shopaholics waste money by cluttering up a closet or refrigerator.

But internal causes have a much greater influence on the formation of addiction to purchases. So, shopping can be a way to have a good time in the absence of hobbies, useful activities, life goals and interests. The search for new emotions, their surge and subsequent decline can “lure” you into stores. Making a purchase decision is a kind of adrenaline-pumping stress.

A similar reason is an escape from loneliness, filling an inner void, or compensating for the absence of friends. Another internal factor is low self-esteem, which means a constant need for attention and compliments.

Sometimes shopaholism goes hand in hand with other psychological problems. For example, often people try to “treat” them with professional or emotional burnout. However, this “medicine” does not last long. As a rule, euphoria and the joy of shopping end already upon returning home, and the positive emotions received are not enough to cover the emotional decline. This leads to new shopping trips.

Sometimes shopping can be dictated by the desire to prove to yourself and others self-love, care and self-respect. Another option is to buy as a reward for something. For example, when quitting smoking (“I don’t smoke for three days, I can please myself”). Another factor is the desire for freedom, which is not enough now (for example, in the family) or was not enough before (for example, in parent-child relationships). In this situation, making another acquisition, a person seems to say to himself: “I am free, I can buy whatever I want.”

Finally, constant purchases may indicate a need for status, power, respect, satisfied through the “subordinate” attitude of the sales staff. Often people buy on credit (“I can afford it”), spend on premium brands to arouse the envy of other buyers, colleagues and acquaintances.

Children’s question

In a separate subgroup of internal causes, three “triggers” can be distinguished from childhood.

The first scenario is childhood against the backdrop of financial difficulties in the family. In this case, the grown child “gets” what he did not receive. At the same time, purchases can be made both for yourself and for family members, even if they do not need them.

The second scenario is the opposite of the first: shopaholics often come from high-affluence families. Eternally busy parents “pay off” from the offspring with gifts and shopping trips.

The third scenario is shopaholism as a consequence of authoritarian relationships. A grown-up child with the help of purchases compensates for the lack of freedom and love.

Salvation Plan

Shopaholism is a kind of vicious circle, which is difficult to break out of, but possible. First of all, you need to understand how it “works”. The scheme is always about the same: purchase – regret – guilt – mood swing – purchase. How to deal with it?

• First of all, you need to solve the problem “in the head”: find the internal “trigger” that requires constant shopping. You can get to the bottom of the reason yourself by analyzing the motivation for making purchases for a certain period and the emotions received from them. If this does not work, you should contact a psychologist.
• Minimize the influence of external (marketing) factors: take money with you only for planned purchases, refuse credit cards or not take them with you, clearly understand the purpose of the purchase, make a list of goods and strictly follow it.
• Review existing items, create a basic wardrobe and, when shopping, think about how a new item will be combined with existing ones. For example, buying shoes to go with your purse and accessories, rather than a new wardrobe for new shoes.
• Buy on sales, but only what you really need. At a minimum, this will save the budget if even high prices do not stop shopping.
• Plan a major purchase that needs money. For example, an apartment, a car, an expensive trip to the sea. In this case, you need to first deal with priorities.