It’s easy to see shopping addiction as a response to a traumatic experience, like divorce or death of a family member. But it can also be a fantasy of escape from the “daily grind” as Lana, a 25-year-old receptionist who spends her whole salary on shopping, puts it. By posting pictures of herself with her… Continue reading Retail Remedy or Addiction?
Author: Carrie Rattle
Carrie Rattle is a Principal at BehavioralCents.com, a website for women focused on mind and money behaviors. She has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years and hopes to inspire women to better prepare themselves for financial independence.
Don’t Shop for a New Persona…Nothin’ Wrong with the One You’ve Got!
We all know we react to others differently depending on their appearance and that what we wear causes others to react differently to us. Have you noticed that service people often display an entirely different attitude to you when you’re dressed professionally than they do when you’re dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt? An interesting… Continue reading Don’t Shop for a New Persona…Nothin’ Wrong with the One You’ve Got!
Loneliness Making You Take Financial Risks?
Most people need some “me time” at least occasionally, but a new study shows that being alone prompts people to take bigger risks with their money. Published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the study put participants through situations in which they were made to feel a sense of exclusion. They were then asked to… Continue reading Loneliness Making You Take Financial Risks?
Hotel Bookkeeper Embezzled £30k from Bosses to Fund Her Internet Shopping Addiction
With the retail world at her fingertips and shielded by her position as a hotel bookkeeper, internet shopping addict Eleanor Buchanan embezzled £30,000 from her employer at the Hillcroft Hotel in Whitburn, Great Britain. She stole the money between December 2010 and January 2012, spending the entire amount on designer clothes for her children. Buchanan’s… Continue reading Hotel Bookkeeper Embezzled £30k from Bosses to Fund Her Internet Shopping Addiction
Shopping Addiction a Growing Problem in the U.S.
Trips to the mall are the fix some Americans need to manage the stress of their lives. Like an alcoholic craves a drink, so does a compulsive shopper rush to a retailer. The compulsion may begin early in life, regardless of income. The reasons for chronic shopping range from low self esteem, to depression, or… Continue reading Shopping Addiction a Growing Problem in the U.S.
Shopping Addiction
According to the American Psychiatric Association, addictive shopping is “a pattern of chronic, repetitive purchasing that becomes difficult to stop and ultimately results in harmful consequences.” A materialistic culture, easy credit, and the advent of internet commerce have led to a rise in compulsive shopping. Ask yourself key questions about spending habits and feelings toward… Continue reading Shopping Addiction
Retail Therapy Gone Wrong
Lots of people like to do a little therapeutic shopping from time to time, just as a little pick-me-up. “Retail therapy” like this goes wrong when you find yourself buying something even when you know you can’t really afford it. You just feel like you can’t help yourself. And then when the thrill of the… Continue reading Retail Therapy Gone Wrong
Fashion Blogs May Be a Hazard to Your Health… Especially If You’re a Celebrity Worshiper!
We’ve all had a “celebrity crush”, and “Celebrity Worship, Materialism, Compulsive Buying, and the Empty Self” reveals what can happen when that “crush” turns into an obsession. Celebrity worship is associated with “The Empty Self Theory.” a theory that suggests that someone with an empty self “is plagued by a loss of a shared sense… Continue reading Fashion Blogs May Be a Hazard to Your Health… Especially If You’re a Celebrity Worshiper!
More Male Shopaholics
Nobody wants to see the number of shopping addictions grow, even if it means making the genders balance more even. But shopping addiction is not a female-only problem, and opening up the dialog to men too takes away some of the stigma. Terence Shulman of the the Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending, and Hoarding… Continue reading More Male Shopaholics
Who’s a Shopaholic?
Is there a certain type of person who is at risk of becoming a shopaholic? We’ve heard of the phrase “addictive personality,” but it seems like there needs to be more research done on the way the brain works to better understand this. Right now we can say that men, women, and now children, who… Continue reading Who’s a Shopaholic?