6 Questions to Slow a Shopaholic Part 5

These tips are taken from “To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Over Shop and How to Stop” by April Lane Benson, PhD (2008) as published in Adrian Furnham’s most recent book “The New Psychology of Money”.

The trick to changing a behavior is to understand why you are doing it, notice when you are doing it, and change the behavior. This is easier said than done of course!

Using a journal to track negative thoughts, triggers and resulting behaviors, can help us realize when and why we are behaving a certain way. These 6 shopping questions are also helpful for diagnostics:

1. How do I feel? – Are you feeling sad or upset and need to make this go away?
2. Why am I here? – Am I here because I’ve had a bad day and need to boost my self-esteem?
3. Do I need this? – Is this groceries, a designated birthday gift, or just something you like?
4. What if I wait? – Try and walk away. Often the urge to buy goes away after a day or two.
5. How will I pay for this? – If you charge it, can you pay off your balance when it is due?
6. Where will I put it? – If it is needed, you will know what to do with it.

When you use a journal you can also track whether you typically shop at certain times, certain days, or with certain friends. All of these will help identify what needs to change to break the habit.

This is not easy, but shopaholism means a need is controlling you, rather than you controlling the need. If you can crack this behavior, you are on the way to saving more money! Are you prone to being a Shopaholic?

Carrie Rattle is the CEO and Founder at BehavioralCents. She is an executive veteran of the financial services industry and works with professional women on their mind and money behaviors to help them build an equal voice in the world. Thoughts always welcome: carrierattle@behavioralcents.com.