Month: January 2013

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Recovering Shopaholic Goals for 2013

Recovering Shopaholic GoalsFirst, a disclaimer… Some of the items below are more intentions or resolutions than goals, as they do not all adhere to the SMART principle for goal-setting (that all goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).  However, I believe that as the year progresses, I will better be able to formulate my goals and make them “SMART.”

Honesty and Commitment

At present, this all seems fairly hazy and “pie in the sky” and that’s part of my reason for committing to blogging about my experience.   I want to keep myself honest and maintain my commitment during times of struggle and challenge (I also hope that in some way, my process can help other “shopaholics” who wish to recover).

My Shopping & Wardrobe Goals

Here are the goals I’ve established for myself as a “recovering shopaholic.”  I will expand on these goals further in future posts, but for now I just wanted to state them plainly and simply for myself and for my readers.

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The Cold, Hard Facts: What I Did – and Didn’t – Wear

In my last post, I took an honest and sobering look at my shopping expenditures over the past 10 years.  I didn’t like what I saw…   I learned that I have consistently exceeded my shopping budget for each and every year since I started to track the numbers.   In some cases, I spent over twice the amount I had allotted for clothing and related expenses.

Tracking What I Do and Don’t Wear

As I mentioned in the previous post, the financial numbers only tell part of the story.  For the past two years, I’ve been tracking how often I wear all of the clothes and shoes in my closet.  I started doing that in the hope that this awareness would help me to shop less and utilize what I have more effectively.

Sobering Truth – My 2011 Numbers

As 2011 drew to a close, I was depressed when I tabulated the numbers for how often I wore the items in my wardrobe.  I learned that:

  • I had 112 garments and 11 pairs of shoes which were worn either once or not at all! 
  • I had only 24 garments and 11 pairs of shoes that I wore eight or more times over the course of 2011.  Not a very good comparison…

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The Cold, Hard Facts: Finances

Compulsive shopping spendingAs part of my preparation to start this blog and really address my compulsive shopping problem, I decided to take a good look at the cold, hard facts of my situation.  To do so, I turned to QuickBooks, where I was able to find information about my spending for the past ten years.  What I learned was both surprising and depressing!

The Numbers in a Nutshell

In a nutshell, I have spent close to $50,000 on clothing, accessories, shoes, and alterations from 2003 through 2012, with an average of $4762.56 in these types of expenditures per year.  For some people, this sounds like a lot of money, while it may seem reasonable or perhaps even low to others.

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It Begins…

Recovering Shopaholic Begins...All worthy accomplishments begin with a decision.  A decision is like a stake in the ground that declares the building of a dream.  My dream with this blog is to recover from compulsive shopping and to help others do the same.

My Vision for 12/31/2013

If I were to project myself into the future, to December 31, 2013, I would see a person for whom shopping is no longer a problem.  Shopping would no longer be a coping mechanism, an escape from reality, or a numbing agent for all that ails me.  Shopping would merely be a means to an end.  I would see a legitimate gap in my wardrobe and venture out to the stores to fill it, and I would do so consciously and logically.  While I see myself still enjoying shopping, it would no longer have a charge attached to it.  I would be free of compulsion to shop, free of obsession – simply FREE!

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