After a weekend of shopping, some work but mostly shopping, I have the need to seriously look at my ability to resist temptation. My observation thus far is it’s going to be a long, thrifty journey on the road to sufficient impulse control. When I stay focused on my projects, work, or fitness I am too busy to even run errands. Problems occur when I venture out to harmlessly scan new items I may purchase later or even when I “quickly” run in to pick up a necessary item at the grocery store.
I believe there is a combination of three things working against me:
1. Over stimulation should have been my middle name. If anyone has ever been shopping with me, well, I apologize. The need to observe everything is overwhelming, and everything happens to catch my eye regardless of necessity, i.e. a 5-minute errand for tooth paste turns into a 20-minute side by side paste comparison of tooth cleaning, gingivitis fighting, whitening, and any other desirable quality. It’s exhausting.
2. Buyers indecision, guilt, perceived judgment, rounded out with some good ol’ remorse would be the next source. A perfect case occurred yesterday when I went to Half Price Books to check if better prices were available for some books I wanted at Barnes & Noble. I spent around 40 minutes scouring over the web/internet section only to choose a book about MBA programs in a couple minutes. I eventually bought the book that took me a fraction of the time to decide on, while the goal of finding a coding book was left unaccomplished. On the walk back to my car I toyed with the idea of stepping into a boutique along the way. I visibly hesitated at the entrance by doing a little “should I?” shuffle back and forth stemming from the knowledge of my inclination to purchase expensive items. Regardless, I opted to strut inside by reassuring myself that I only wanted to look. The objective was simple: Check out the price range of the merchandise then leave. Had I known that this store contained kryptonite in the form of a vintage style backless red dress I would never have stepped in, but ignorance is bliss. Or it’s only bliss until you hand them your card, sign on the line stating you understand there are no returns—only store credit, then realize you just forked over way more than a pretty penny for that dress despite being a t-shirt and soccer shorts kind of lady.
Before I completed those steps I had handed over the dress to the sales lady as one that I would definitely buy. Later on she commented how popular it been due to the number they had already sold. Retracting my definite buy popped into my head to avoid walking around in a dress everyone else already owned, but I worried about getting judgmental glares from the sales lady. Yeah, I know it’s ridiculous, but everyone has most likely experienced a “why are you here” look while browsing the merchandise at an over-priced store at some point. By handing the plastic over the counter I sacrificed my brave debit card, prevented any negatively subjective glances, and made the purchase. While exiting the boutique I scolded myself for entering in the first place. Fortunately, every time the dress comes into view some remorse dissipates…at least for a little while.
3. The innocent email question at the end of a purchase is bad news. Follow some sage advice and just say no! You don’t offer an alcoholic coupons for liquor, but it is perfectly acceptable for DSW, Victoria’s Secret, Nine West, and Sephora to offer a shopaholic incentives to get a fix. If I’m high, my balance is left low, very low.
