According to the American Psychological Association, 15 million Americans are shopping addicts. According to Dr. April Benson, a psychologist and author of To Buy or Not to Buy, “Research suggests the internet is a really fertile ground for the development and maintenance of compulsive buying disorder.” Flash sales, which often last 24 to 72 hours,… Continue reading Anatomy of an Online Flash Sale Addict
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.
Embracing Commitment for Lasting Change
Creating lasting change takes commitment, something not found in great abundance in today’s society. Committing oneself to making an important change in our lives is crucial to succeeding. Dedication to the “means” and not the “ends” will carry us through inevitable setbacks and disappointments. If we only focus on a goal we may succumb to… Continue reading Embracing Commitment for Lasting Change
Give Up or Go On? Eight Unorthodox Suggestions for Handling the Struggle
Jill Chivers, writing on myyearwithoutclothesshopping.com, discusses some helpful ways to make it through what she calls “the struggle times.” Whether dealing with over-shopping, work stress, depression, or other trials and tribulations, she suggests eight ideas for surviving those tough periods in life: 1) don’t make any major decisions, 2) don’t make it worse with other… Continue reading Give Up or Go On? Eight Unorthodox Suggestions for Handling the Struggle
My Shopping Addiction, a new reality show on Oxygen begins October 15th!
Beginning next Monday night, October 15th, the new reality show My Shopping Addiction will air on Oxygen — and I can’t wait to see it! Shopping addiction, so prevalent and so under recognized, has been a really hard sell to both the general public and the professional community. My Shopping Addiction has the potential to be enormously helpful… Continue reading My Shopping Addiction, a new reality show on Oxygen begins October 15th!
Menstruation and the Mall
A recent study conducted by the University of Hertfordshire shows that women are more likely to be involved with over-shopping behaviors at certain times of their menstrual cycle. British psychologists, Karen Pine and Ben Fletcher, whose research results are published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, studied 443 women ages 18 to 50. They… Continue reading Menstruation and the Mall
Shame a Key Risk Factor for Compulsive Buying, Study Shows
According to a paper by Professor Sunghwan Yi, published in the Journal of Consumer Policy, seven percent of compulsive shoppers are suffering from chronic shame. Professor Yi says his research, based on several self-reporting surveys, examined shame in relationship to extreme compulsive buying. Previous research had found a connection between mood-related over shopping but this… Continue reading Shame a Key Risk Factor for Compulsive Buying, Study Shows
Our Resources are Finite and It Matters
Writer Joshua Becker explains how he came to grips with the finite nature of our resources. He started, four years ago, by getting rid of unessential possessions, while knowing that he did not have the money to indulge in crass consumerism anymore. He came to understand that sometimes we own our possessions, and sometimes our… Continue reading Our Resources are Finite and It Matters
Shopaholic: Seven Signs You’re Addicted To Shopping
When purchases go from impulsive to compulsive, you may have a serious problem with shopping addiction. There are seven signs that you are addicted to shopping as enumerated by Renee Morad from MoneyTalkNews: 1) You have many unopened or tagged items in your closet. 2) You often purchase things you don’t need or didn’t plan… Continue reading Shopaholic: Seven Signs You’re Addicted To Shopping
How to Avoid Buying Things You Don’t Really Need
In a society that seems to have created an Olympic sport out of consumerism, we find ourselves in competition to fill our lives with the most stuff possible. Now many of us have more than we can use, more than we need and, amazingly, more that we really want. In order to stop buying things… Continue reading How to Avoid Buying Things You Don’t Really Need
Compulsive Shopping: The Applauded Addiction
Madame Bovary, in Gustave Flaubert’s first novel, was imprisoned in a gilded cage. In order to escape her prison, she indulged in living beyond her means. She moved on to adulterous affairs and, after driving her family into the poor house, she committed suicide in shame. This serves as a cautionary tale to women crowding… Continue reading Compulsive Shopping: The Applauded Addiction