Bargain Junkies

Shop Until You Drop?

They have “shop until you drop” shirts and tote bags, as if it is a good thing, but now I know different. My children would wander away from me in stores knowing exactly where to find me when they decided to. I would be near the largest mark down area in the store.

I was a "shop until you drop" person. I will not use the word "junkie" that they associate with this addiction, as it is a label I refuse to wear. Admitting that I had a problem steering away from the brightly marked 75% OFF racks and shelves is difficult enough. My small office is overflowing with books I picked up at second hand stores for a fraction of the original price. I rationalized that I have churned out lots of articles using my bargain books, and have found amazing content within the pages of these books. I never owned up to having a problem until I began noticing that there was no way to organize my purchases, and no where to put all my terrific finds.

My Addiction Caught Me Short

When it was time to pay the mortgage, and I needed help from my husband, he demanded to know what I had done with my money. I felt hurt and frustrated. After all I was not even $50. short. He wanted an accounting for every dollar I had spent. How could I justify three shopping bags full of books, an assortment of preserves (they were half off and he loves them) and six boxes of cereal (those were buy two get one free)? He did not want to hear it.

Don't Go Shopping Unless You Need Something.

His rule, one I would do well to adopt is "Don't go to the store unless you have something you need to buy." The operative word here is "need", not want. I went to stores like a beer drinker goes to his fridge. Finding the right price or the right gift item was my fix. Then I came home with my prize and had to wonder all the way home if my husband was home yet. Would I have to hide it in my trunk until he went out? If it's a gift for someone, it would stay in the trunk until I could deliver it. In the back of my mind I knew how he would react and it tarnished my good feeling. I silently promised to avoid shopping for at least another week.

Shopping Helps Ease Insecurities

Tim Kasser, an associate professor of psychology at Knox College in Illinois and the author of The High Price of Materialism offers his explanation in this way "Scoring deals help these out-of-control shoppers ease their insecurities and feel more competent and in control".

Because I realized that my budget would not allow for expensive purchases but the purchase of something new, even if it was secondhand would give me a brief feeling of exhilaration. The price was “special” and so was I. It would somehow enhance my feelings of entitlement. I was entitled to nice things.

The American Journal of Psychiatry conducted a study in 2006 where they telephoned and surveyed respondents regarding their spending habits. Of 2,513 who participated they felt that 16% of the adult U.S. population fit into this category. My take on this is that a number of people were not participants because they may have been out shopping or watching their caller i.d.

If You Need to Return the Entire Purchase Later You Have a Problem

Working in retail for a number of years, I have come in contact with a lot of compulsive shoppers, and some of them were standing at the counter the following week with nearly their entire purchase begging for a refund because they had not paid their bills.

I've tried to rationalize my shopping addiction with the following:

• It was too good a deal, so I actually saved money
• I work hard for my money (I can actually hear the song “She Works Hard for the Money” playing in the background)
• I deserve it

Six Signs of the Bargain Junky

This site offers six signs that indicate you may be a bargain junky.

1. Hitting sales and clearance racks when feeling angry or down
2. Spending more than one can afford
3. Seeing a sale as an opportunity that cannot be passed up
4. Spending so much time tracking down sales and bargains that their time with family and friends is compromised
5. Routinely forgetting where they placed their last stash, or finding it much later still unopened
6. Feeling so guilty about the purchase that they would hide it

Ways to Cope

Unfortunately the bargain junky must still go in a store to make purchases. It is not like an alcoholic steering clear of the bar. It is hard to avoid stores altogether. Items need to be bought for the home, and gifts selected for birthdays and Christmas. I have also heard about people who have become addicted to purchasing online at such sites as eBay. There is something intangibly delightful about finding that perfect item for an absolutely fantastic price. It is hard to resist, but it can be done.

First we have to recognize the need that had been filled and make changes by finding new ways to feed those needs.

• Enjoying the space left from donating the many unneeded purchases to family or charity is one way
• Cleaning out the closet and reorganizing your items is another

Personally I have found the above two have worked for me.

• I am also pursuing other passions that I have such as writing, crocheting and sewing
• I am boxing up a selection of books and donating them to my church library

Every time I take a bag or a box to donate I am getting a step closer to having my home the way I want it, and that is motive enough to stop chasing the bargains. Instead of thinking that I may miss a deal if I am not shopping at the precise moment that something goes on sale, I think of all the things that could be done at home during that time, and remember the feeling of disappointment I have realized when the funds needed to take care of a bill had been spent on something unnecessarily.