Looking for ways to control your emotional shopping? Try these tips to get your dopamine hit without it hurting your back pocket or cluttering your wardrobe.
If you watched the recent episode of Space Invaders on Saturday night, you would have seen the effects of emotional shopping.
There were racks and racks overflowing with clothes. I don’t think Peter Walsh could work out where the wardrobe started or ended! And the under drawer compartment of the bed was packed to the brim with shoes and handbags.
The overall income from the donations once all the belongings were culled was under $20,000!
I found myself relating to this beautiful lady’s story of going shopping when she needed a pick-me-up. It had become a go-to habit – a distraction if you will – to help her forget how she felt her life should have been.
We always think about the financial cost to emotional shopping, but we never consider the costs to our wellbeing and environment. The clutter that soon forms from overconsumption soon affects our homes.
If you do suffer from emotional shopping, it’s important to find what the trigger is and the underlying cause.
Emotional spending is often a cover to something that needs to be brought to the surface and dealt with. It can also be triggered from inadequacy. What is making you feel this way and why? I found this article from Mum’s Savvy Savings really helpful in ways to curb emotional spending.
Starting a new habit to curb emotional shopping is something you could adopt.
Here are some things to try before you shop with your emotions
- Catch up with a friend in person
- Read an Uplifting Book
- Listen to a podcast to distract your mind from shopping
- Reach out to a friend and go for a walk
- Head to the gym
- Sit outside in the sunshine with your feet on the grass
- Do something creative – like painting, drawing, singing…
- Find a new hobby
- Listen to music
- Book a treatment – massage/facial/pedicure
If emotional shopping is something you partake in every once in a while, only you can determine if it is having a detrimental effect on you.
Regular donations or selling pieces when you buy something new can ensure you maintain your wardrobe efficiently.
Turning the hangers the opposite way and seeing what pieces you haven’t worn in a while is also another way to curate your clothes.