Ani Ram went from serial-dater to home-maker in less time..
Most of the people around me know that I’m a shopoholic. It took me a long time to realize the severity of this condition. Once I came to terms with this I started trying to help myself. The truth is, I make the effort to control my cravings and that usually works for a while. Then, I relapse.
Here’s an example of a typical day (usually everyday):
I wake up and immediately check my email. Since I last saw it before I went to sleep, there is nothing new there. Then, I try to visit as many of my favorite shopping websites as I can, before I HAVE to go shower or I’ll be late for work. On each website, I go straight to the sale section and check if anything new has been added or if there’s anything there I must have. Bloomingdales.com, eluxury.com, fortunoff.com, and smartbargains.com are just some examples. I am on each of these websites everyday looking for my next purchase. I am on each of these websites at least 3 times a day everyday.
Everyday, I wake up with a new crave. Lately, it’s been jewelry, watches, purses, and jeans. I research any given product all over the internet trying to find one I love. Usually, searching for one product means finding another. On a good day, I don’t see anything I like. A part of me feels a sense of relief whenever I don’t see something I want to buy. Another part of me feels disappointed because I was really looking forward to a new product! It’s kind of like me telling myself “see, you’re really trying to spend money, but there’s nothing out there you need. Ha-ha”!
Without getting specific, I make enough money that I should be living comfortably in my own house by now. I still live with my parents and have almost nothing in the bank. Unfortunately, for a long time, my monthly shopping allowance equaled my monthly salary. This was great, I was buying something new everyday! Every week, I was at the mall, looking for new things. The more I shopped the more I needed to keep shopping. The faster I got used to having new things, the faster my new things were getting old. I was so happy leaving the mall with 10 shopping bags at a time that I was feeling really down when I wasn’t able to go to the mall.
I knew that I had to quit shopping. At the end of last year, I decided that in 2007, I would start saving money. I promised myself. So, as my last binge, at the end of the year, I bought an entirely new wardrobe. I figured this would suffice through the majority of this year. Not so much. I did stop going to the mall, which has been a great help, although I think about going everyday after work. I take a back route from work to my house so that I am not tempted to make the dangerous detour. Since, I’ve stopped going to the mall, I’ve become addicted to shopping websites. So, I still visit all my favorite stores, but online! I never keep my credit card anywhere near my computer. Lucky for me, most things aren’t as desirable online.
January was a good month. I only made 2 purchases and returned 1 because it didn’t look as nice in person as it did online. I returned a gold & leather ring back to bloomngdales and am still waiting for that credit. The other purchase I made was from fortunoff.com. I’ve always loved their jewelry. Recently, they started a new plan for their card holders: if you purchase over $500 of product, you can pay it off without interest for 6 months. I was beside myself. I REALLY LOVE PAYMENT PLANS! I immediately bought earings and a necklace totalling $590 to ensure I can take full advantage of the deal. I decided to pay $100 a month until I pay it off and I’m not allowed to buy anything until I’m done.
I am not allowed to buy anything until June, but I’m not sure I can make it. Six months is a really long time. All I can think about is if I can just get a new bag, a new watch, and a pair of jeans, I’ll be good for a long time. I am considering opening a card with bloomingdales because they also have a no interest payment plan and a lot more product categories! This will be dangerous and I’m trying my all to hold out. Because I check their website for new things everyday, I’m afraid I’ll give in as soon as I see something. I know that all it’s going to take is one thing to trigger my addiction.
A new philosophy I am trying to live by is that just because something is on sale, doesn’t mean I need it. This is a new concept that I discovered that has never occured to me before. If I ever saw something that I thought was a great deal, I bought it. I am trying to reverse that psychology everyday.
If there’s anyone out there that thinks they can help or who is, also, coping with this addiction, share some thoughts with me! I would appreciate any help.
Have advice? Write to me: aniram@understandanyman.com
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 8:06 pm and is filed under About me. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
stop shopping!!!
u live at home, so you should have a down payment saved up by now!
tsk tsk