Shopping is your favourite hobby. You love the feeling of browsing the aisles of a boutique and finding the perfect deal, or the rush of combing through an online store’s inventory and adding a trendy piece into your shopping cart before it goes out of stock.
Very first, this hobby seems completely safe. But, take a closer look. You could be spending way too much on clothes.
You’re Frequently in Financial Trouble
One of the biggest signs that you’re spending too much on clothes is that you’re often having money trouble. You’ve maxed out your credit card and blown your budget without realizing it. This is a really risky habit that you shouldn’t keep up with. What if you’ve racked up too high of a credit card balance to handle an unexpected emergency expense? What will you do if you can’t wait for payday?
If that happens, you can click here to find out how to take out small loans for emergency expenses like fixing a clogged kitchen sink or bringing a stalling car to the mechanic. An installment loan may help you get through this tricky situation. You can use the funds to cover the surprise expense, and then move forward.
Ideally, you shouldn’t be putting yourself in this position to begin with. If you feel like you have to do some shopping for the month, build a careful budget before browsing the shelves and stick to it.
You’re Running Out of Storage Space
Everywhere you look, there are clothes. You have dirty laundry covering your bedroom floor. You have sundresses draped over the back of your chairs and folded jeans sitting on the couch. Your closet is so full you can barely shut the door. Shirts, socks, and skirts are spilling out of your dresser drawers.
One of the best ways to tell that you have too many clothes is that you don’t have enough storage to keep them neatly organized. The solution isn’t to buy a new dresser — it’s to get rid of the clothes and slow down on the spending.
You Don’t Wear the Clothes
When you look through your closet and dresser drawers, you find tons of items that still have the tags and stickers on them. Some are still sitting in the shopping bags hidden under layers of tissue paper and printed receipts. You forgot that you even bought them.
This realization should push you to embrace a minimalist wardrobe that only has items that you like and wear on a regular basis. Get rid of the untouched pieces. You can return them to the store, sell them online, or donate them to a charity.
You Shop to Cope
You buy clothes when you’re stressed out at work. You buy them after you’ve had an argument with your partner. You buy them when you’re feeling sad, bored, excited, and angry. Whenever you have a strong emotional feeling, you find yourself pulling out your purse.
Using shopping as a way to cope with your emotions is a common sign of shopping addiction — also called compulsive buying. If you notice this sign, you should go to a mental health professional so that you can confront your compulsive behavior and build healthier habits.
Your love of fashion shouldn’t come with such heavy consequences. You don’t want to get into deep financial trouble just because of your wardrobe. Take a look at your habits and rein in your spending so that the only consequence that comes with your clothing are rips, stains and loads of laundry.
