By Janice Wee
Whenever I feel really down, I would go shopping. Retail therapyis one of my favourite ways to destress. The lure of the hunt.For that something that catches your eye, priced unbelievablylow, or at such a huge discount. 70% discounts at stores oftenturn normally lady like women into wild beasts. Everyonegrabbing for that last piece from a coveted designer must have,priced at 70%, or even 90% the normal price.
It always works for me.. initially. As long as I can still makeends meet after these binges. I just love the thrill of buyingthings, and knowing that I got them at below the regular retailprices.
Leave me alone in a mall for 10 minutes, even with 2 preschoolkids, I guarantee you. I'd be carrying bags of shopping, kids intow, when you get back.
There is the thrill of the hunt. Going to a sale, not knowingwhat fantastic buy you might spot. Then you see it. That coveteddesigner brand normally beyond your budget, suddenly priced lowenough for you to comfortably afford. You try it on. You lovethe way it looks on you. You buy it. That sense of satisfactionis indescribable. You move on to the next store. That high lastsuntil you see your credit card bill.
Worse still, those outfits you buy may be worn once or not atall, before you give them away.
It is something like going on an eating binge. You diet for agestrying to lose weight. Then suddenly, you just throw caution tothe winds. You eat like a pig, gobbling down all the yummy,calorie laden desserts, snacks and favourite foods you havedeprived yourself after so long.
Retail therapy, uncontrolled, can leave you broke. Especiallywith easy access to credit cards, you can chalk up a major debtif you are not careful.
Still, like calorie laden desserts, you can still indulge inretail therapy and stay within your budget.
Like eating less or even skipping a meal after you binge at agrand buffet, and eating less in the following days after it,you can indulge in retail therapy, if you spend less in the daysafter it.
There are things you have to buy anyway. Why not focus yourretail therapy on what you actually need.
Make a list of the things you actually need.
Do you need a brand new
You could even have your retail therapy in your favouritesupermarket, buying the food you and your family actually need,sourcing out the deals. Again, make a list of what you actuallyneed and stick to that list when you go shopping.
Or if you spot a gorgeous luxury item like a very expensive bag,you might want to save up for months first before you actuallysplurge on it. By the time you have saved enough money to buythe bag, you might even have lost interest and could put themoney to better use.
The trick here is to spend only what you have. Credit cards giveyou the illusion you have far more money to spend than youactually have. Buy now pay later is a very dangerous way tothink. Many people have ended up bankrupt after that.
Yes, you could always use that card to pay for whatever youwant, and then pay the credit card bill in installments for thenext few months. Meanwhile, the credit card company gets to makemoney off you in the interest charges which could be as high as24% per annum (2% per month adds up to a lot in the long run).
Can't pay the bill in full? Roll it over to the next month. Getanother card to pay off some the debt in the old card and morespending power.
Before you know it, your debt is so high, you can't imagine howyou could possibly clear away all that debt.
Personally, I am a webmaster with a sometimes uncontrollableurge to splurge. I would usually buy something whenever I stepout of my home. Nowadays, I tell myself to hold off thepurchase. I can get a better deal on the web.
Retail therapy extends online too. Online stores can offer evenbetter deals than your usual retail store. The brick and motarretails stores have to pay rent for all that shopping space.Online stores have far less overheads and can afford to passtheir savings to us. Their customers.
Every now and then, online stores would have discounts of someitems, or short term promotions where you can save a substantialamount of money off your order. Some stores even have couponswhich you enter into a box when you check out, for free shippingor a certain percentage savings off your purchase. Take yourtime to make use of these savings and get the most of youronline shopping experience. I love
The best part about online stores is that you can take your timeto shop, without some pesky sales person trying to pressurizeyou into buying something you really don't need. Ok, some storehave pesky live help pop up windows, but you can always closethose windows so you can shop in peace
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