Your Decisional Balance Matrix:
Take your time and write what comes to mind now. Whenever you think of additional costs or benefits, add them to this living document.
| If I Stop | If I Continue Overshopping | |
| Short-Term Benefits | (1)
| (2) |
| Long-Term Benefits | (3)
| (4) |
| Short-Term Costs | (5)
| (6) |
| Long-Term Costs | (7)
| (8) |
Observations from Your Matrix
Now that you’ve filled out your matrix, rate each cost or benefit in each cell on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being least important and 10 being most important. Then add up the numbers in each cell.
Cell 1 Total:
Cell 2 Total:
Cell 3 Total:
Cell 4 Total:
Cell 5 Total:
Cell 6 Total:
Cell 7 Total:
Cell 8 Total:
Strength of Forces for Stopping Overshopping: Total of Cells 1,3, 6, and 8
+ + + =
Strength of Forces for Continuing to Overshop: Total of Cells 2,4,5, and 7
+ + + =
Follow-Up Questions
1. What have you noticed?
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2. What contradictions do you see, if any?
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3. Which list was easiest to write? Why?
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4. Which list was hardest to write? Why?
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5. When you look at the whole form, what do you see in terms of the balance of costs versus benefits?
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6. If you work on stopping overshopping, what’s likely to happen?
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7. If you don’t work on stopping overshopping, what’s likely to happen?
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8. What, if anything, would have to change in your life for the overshopping costs to outweigh the benefits?
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© 2013 April Lane Benson, Ph.D.
Stopping Overshopping, LLC
www.shopaholicnomore.com
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.