Shopaholic Syndrome

I've given up shopping, except for necessities. I need to in order to remain focused on paying my bills. Having said that, I enjoyed Confessions of a Shopaholic and the three out of four sequels I have so far read; most of which were purchased at my local thrift store. I still haven't found a copy of Shopaholic and Baby, though expect that to be available soon. The movie is just coming out. While I'm not opposed to movies, I tend not to see the movie if I've read the book.

I still buy things, but no longer go to the mall as a form of entertainment; which isn't necessarily good as I understand that shopping malls too are having trouble in these times. In some ways, it's their own fault for having multiplied so much; during my childhood there were different department stores downtown, but initially only about four major malls in the area, supplemented by some smaller malls. Then more malls were built, culminating in The Mall of America. That itself may be recession-proof as it's a hot spot for foreign tourists. The Chinese and Saudi's haven't yet run out of money. Maybe that's next week.

Credit cards are still dangerous for me and for anyone; I pay attention so I won't become like a friend who just realized she has a $4,000 balance on her card and doesn't exactly know how she achieved it. That's the scary part. None of it was due to emergency or necessity. I don't know her budget, how much of a concern it is to her or how long it'll take to pay off. What I do know is that's why I'm paying close attention to my spending and planning ahead.

Lately, I've been thinking about each unnecessary expenditure (defined as those not including regularly scheduled bills, medical expenses, food and gas) before spending money. I went out for lunch one day last week, to a restaurant with a little gift shop. They have a lot of cute stuff, but none of it is necessary, so I looked at it and have a few things in mind for future possibilities but didn't buy anything. The purchases I have made have been a result of a more thoughtful process but haven't added up to that much. I have made a few frivolous expenditures but still have enough money to pay off a small bill. It's only a couple hundred dollars but it's one less bill to pay. I achieved it in part by waiting to buy contact lenses; I have some of the trial ones left and haven't been wearing them every day. It won't kill me to wait.

My mantra is "each month I reduce my total debt." The more progress I can make on that, the happier I will be. Once I eliminate the remaining nagging little bills, I'll be able to achieve my goals more quickly. I'm still torn about which loan to target, the one with the lower rate of interest or one of the set that's tied together at a slightly higher rate.