Wealth Wednesday | Cure For A Shopaholic

Are you a shopaholic?

SHOPAHOLIC. A compulsive shopper.

Many women suffer from this kind of disease; a financial disease. Shopaholics are frequent shoppers who can't control their compulsive buying.

How to know if you're a shopaholic. Use these key words: FREQUENT, COMPULSIVE and IMPULSIVE. Put them all together, then YES, you're a certified shopaholic.

Are you frequently buying things in the mall or online? Do you frequently spend on "nice-to-have" things more than your "must-have"? Or have you already learned the skill to make all your "nice-to-have" and make them into a "MUST-HAVE". And you have mastered the act of defending your "buy". Ooops. You're a shopaholic. :)



How do I know? Well, it takes one to know one.

Yes I am a self confessed shopaholic who's looking for ways to cure herself. And this blog aims to help you and me. ;) We are all in this together. (Don't worry. If any of these tips may seem very difficult to do… Believe me, I UNDERSTAND. LOL.)

CURE FOR A SHOPAHOLIC

1. Know what you NEED. Ok this may sound as a cliché, but this is the key to curing shopping diseases. You need to know what you want and need. Oh yeah, Shopaholics know what they want… It's EVERYTHING. Everything that they think of that is "nice". Basically, all are nice-to-haves. But not everything you want is exactly what you need.
   
   For example: I would want to buy a Curling Iron for an event. Yes, for a single event. I have already purchased a curling iron years back and it's still working well. But this "new" curling iron seems so.. (there you go) NICE-TO-HAVE. It's of better quality, it has a different size… and the list could go on, and on, and on. Familiar? :) I have been itching to buy it. ASAP. But do I need it? Do I really really really need it?
   
   What I do is a make a list of what I need and what I want. Sometimes it can get mixed up, so what I do is I just make that long list… Then go back through it for a minimum of 5 times. Then every time I go through the list, I ask myself "WHY??". If the answer is convincing, I put a mark. Which means that item is important. After the fifth pass, some would not be as important as the first pass. ;)
   
   It is the process of rethinking your stuff. But take note, it should be written. You cannot allow it to be just there in your head. You'll forget about it. Write it. Mark it. Go through it 100 times if needed BEFORE you buy anything.
   

   Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18a

   
   
   
2. Buy with CASH. Yup there will be times that I do shopping with my credit card, but then I make sure to pay it the next day. I do it to accumulate points… THAT was the idea. :) With much discipline this is achievable. But being a Shopaholic, this happens to be torture. It is something that every shopaholic must work out on.
   
   I have 3 major credit cards on my wallet. And it does get very overwhelming when 3 bills arrive every month with overwhelming balances. It causes me headaches. Thus making me decide to do what I am doing now. Curing my disease.
   
   When you use credit cards, you are literally using money that are not yet there. You are counting the eggs before they hatch. Predicting your payroll then buying before hand may sound reasonable but very dangerous. We need to learn how to be WISE in using these resources.
   
   

   The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

   

   As posted on my Instagram.

   
   
3. Bring a non-shopaholic FRIEND. If you want to keep yourself from buying, or you just can't seem to find a reason NOT to buy anything, here's what you need to do… CALL A FRIEND. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. If your brain can't do the reasoning anymore, you need another person to reason for you. But take note… he/she should be a non-shopaholic. Most likely, a guy friend is fit for this job. They will just tell you these things:
   • "Oh, you don't need that."
   • "Too expensive."
   • "Not worth your money."
   • "It does not look good on you."
   • "You have that already!"
   • "I'm hungry. Let's go."
   
   Friends can really be your greatest treasure. And they can help you cure your shopaholic disease. So really, no man is an island. And in this curing process, you need someone to help you.
   
   Tell everybody you're saving up. Tell people you are working out on being a shopaholic. Then you'll have someone accountable to you. Tell them to remind you of that too, because really… shopaholics tend to forget. *Guilty*
   
   

   Plans fail for lack of counsel, but  with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22

   

Difficult? Not a yes, not a no.. But it's POSSIBLE. I am applying these on my personal "shopping" life, and let me tell you…. it gets really, really, really tough. And there are times when I still give in. But then again, all we need to do is to keep on going and keep on changing and then… Breakthrough.

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15

So before you run your way and "shop"...

Think again. ;)

SAVING UP is the best thing you can do for yourself. Spend on things that are important. Spend on things that are worth it. Spend on things where you are willing to give your heart into. ;)

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Save it up for your destiny. :)



-- A I M E E ♥