Here are tips to overcome compulsive shopping, from April Lane Benson, author of “To Buy or Not to Buy,” and Olivia Mellan, author of “Overcoming Overshopping.”
Identify triggers:
Compulsive shopping has little to do with being a consumer and everything to do with filling emotional voids, such as loneliness, lack of self-confidence or lack of control, among others.
Remove temptation:
Stay out of the mall, block shopping websites, get rid of credit cards. Unsubscribe to retailers’ e-mails. Cancel catalogs and limit junk mail by visiting and .
Find substitutes for shopping:
Substitute activities might be exercise, a walk in nature, volunteering or spending time with friends and family.
Get help:
Self-help books can be an aid, but experts say true shopaholics will probably also need professional help. That might be in the form of therapy or joining a support group such as Debtors Anonymous, or 800-421-2383.
