Lots of people, men and women, love to shop; clothes and shoes being top of the list for most shopping trips. Some choose designer, some choose high street, and some choose-vintage. It can be fun, A LOT of fun. But after reading an article in a magazine recently about a self-confessed shopaholic in which thousands of pounds worth of debt was accumulated, I began to wonder, can we really become addicted to shopping?
‘Omniomania’ is the term used to describe this sort of addiction and after a bit of light googling, I came across a Shopaholics Anonymous website, which actually identifies causes of this so-called addiction. The causes include ‘excitement seeking’, ‘a need to gain control’ and ‘perfectionism’ to name a few. This made me question my own shopping habits. I enjoy shopping; it’s something I class as a hobby rather than a chore. And yes, I am your typical girly girl and I do get excited when a new collection comes out or I find the perfect dress for that night out, so, does this mean that I’m an excitement seeking shopper? Or am I just your average fashion-lover? This leads me to my next question; where do you draw the line between enjoyment and addiction?
Some women have described buying shoes as a ‘reward’ for working hard and admit that shopping gives them a ‘high’. To me, that makes perfect sense, work hard, play hard right? (Playing hard meaning shopping lots in this sense!) But, when that harmless purchase turns into compulsive spending, I agree, that then it becomes a problem. In fact, lots of women, myself included, admit to buying things they don’t really need. Surely this is okay for those who can afford these luxuries as some people are lucky enough to be able to shop to their heart’s desire, just look at the celeb divas out there who quite comfortably spend hundreds of thousands in one shopping trip.
However, most of us, (especially us students)aren’t blessed with the fortune of the rich and famous. With alcohol or drug addiction it tends to be very obvious if someone is an addict or not but with shopping addiction, things aren’t always that clear. Yes, it is obvious if you can’t stop yourself from spending as you feel the need to compulsively buy things you don’t need and end up getting into thousands of pounds worth of debt. But, what about the more fortunate people out there who are wealthy enough to compulsively buy things they don’t need without having to worry about the financial side of things. If there is no debt is there still a problem?
With clothes being so affordable in high street stores, such as Primark, is this making shopping addiction more common? With clothes at such low prices are we encouraged to buy things we don’t need? Does this mean that raising the price of clothes and other items is the cure for this addiction or will this just worsen the debt? So many questions yet there appears to be no right answer as with every addiction there is a different addict and it all depends on the individual in question.
If you feel you may suffering from ‘omniomania’ or just feel a little out of control of your spending habits here are few helpful tips to get you back on track. First of all, unsubscribe to any email from stores offering you free delivery or 20% off, seeing these offers will only encourage you to buy things you don’t need. Secondly, make a budget (or a limit) and stick to it, seems simple enough but if you don’t keep a record of your spending then that’s when things start to get out of control. And thirdly, when you see something you want to buy, just wait, even only for 1 hour, just so you know that it’s something you really do want and not just an impulse purchase. Shopping should be enjoyable so keep it that way and try not to get too carried away!