By now we all know that a transaction need not occur within the walls of a store for it to be titled “shopping.” And no matter how clearly you know what you’re shopping for, there are always pressures to overshop. Shopping-at a mall, on the Internet, or even from a catalog-is almost guaranteed to stir… Continue reading A Closer Look at Mindful Shopping
Category: Money Behaviors
16 Strategies to Curve A Compulsive Shopping Addiction
I’ve given you the three main strategies for stopping compulsive buying and curbing a shopping addiction. Now, I want to share with you some more tips to stop overshopping, things to think about, and questions to ask yourself if you think you’re at rick of developing a compulsive shopping addiction. First, keep in mind the… Continue reading 16 Strategies to Curve A Compulsive Shopping Addiction
3 Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping, Part 1
Are the current economic conditions feeling scary to you? Are you having to rein in your buying and having difficulty doing it? The current economic crisis can serve as an extra motivator, a support to help you stop overshopping. Almost all of us need to think more seriously about our own buying behavior now. It’s… Continue reading 3 Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping, Part 1
Recommended Reading: In the Red: The Diary of a Recovering Shopaholic, by Alexis Hall
Recently, a number of overconsumers have decided to make radical changes in the course of a year and then write about their experiences. Mary Carlomagno did it in Give it Up: My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less, which we reviewed in Vol. 1, Number 2, March, 2006. She chronicled giving up one… Continue reading Recommended Reading: In the Red: The Diary of a Recovering Shopaholic, by Alexis Hall
Don’t Shop, Swap!
Didn’t really need that sweater you bought this week? Have 3 of the same pairs of pants? Thought you’d fit into that skirt someday, but it’s not gonna happen? Take a look through your closet, collect the clothes you can’t or won’t wear again—and use them to shop. A wonderful alternative for the shopping-inclined, Swap-O-Rama-Rama… Continue reading Don’t Shop, Swap!
Recommended Reading: Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold Onto Their Money By Stuart Vyse (Oxford University Press, 2008)
Stuart Vyse’s Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold On To Their Money brings an important historical perspective to a current crisis, approaching debt not primarily as an individual issue but as a far broader sociological one. Vyse views our present debting behavior in the context of historical economic influences, moral financial perspectives, the evolution of… Continue reading Recommended Reading: Going Broke: Why Americans Can’t Hold Onto Their Money By Stuart Vyse (Oxford University Press, 2008)
Results of an Open Clinical Trial of a 6-Day Experiential Therapy Program for Disordered Money Behaviors
A year ago in the newsletter (Vol 2, Number 3), we reported on The Healing Money Workshop, held at Onsite Workshops in Nashville, Tennessee—one of a very few programs that does intensive work with people who have serious money disorders. A combination of financial education and experiential therapy, the workshop focuses on bringing to awareness… Continue reading Results of an Open Clinical Trial of a 6-Day Experiential Therapy Program for Disordered Money Behaviors
Important New Test for Compulsive Buying Comes Out in December
After years of rigorous testing and research, a new test of compulsive buying tendencies is being published in the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Designed to identify consumers who “have a strong urge to buy, regularly spend a lot of money, and have difficulty resisting the impulse to buy,” the new test… Continue reading Important New Test for Compulsive Buying Comes Out in December
Stopping Overshopping Tips: When Happiness Seems Just a Mouse Click Away…
An article in The Williams Record discusses the dramatic rise in online overshopping among college students, but that rise isn’t limited to the collegiate population. Increasingly, other Americans are clicking their way to addicted shopping. They’re lured there by an endless virtual world of merchandise, by attractive pricing, and above all by the ease of… Continue reading Stopping Overshopping Tips: When Happiness Seems Just a Mouse Click Away…
Making Less, Spending More: What’s Wrong with this Picture?
In a Washington Post article earlier this year, Michael Fletcher pointed to some disturbing facts about the direction of the middle class economy. At the heart of the matter is a curious reversal: although the typical American family now earns less than it did seven years ago, its rate of consumption has increased significantly. Median… Continue reading Making Less, Spending More: What’s Wrong with this Picture?