Shopping Problem

After recently catching up with my good friend Kate for margaritas, I confessed to her that my spending habits are spinning out of control and that I have a shopping problem.

No this isn't a joke and I am not exaggerating, my name is Olivia and I have a shopping problem.

After making some outrageous purchases, I sat in my room one evening after receiving a "thank you for your purchase" confirmation and asked myself, is this stuff going to make me become a better person? No. Is this stuff going to validate my self worth? No. So why did I just spend THAT much when it is just....stuff? Stuff that will get worn overtime and loose value without contributing to my overall character.  Yes, I love clothes, I ADORE clothes, but just because you love something doesn't mean you always have to have it.  

First thing first! I signed up on Mint (which you should check out) to unfold where the hell my money is going to by tracking my spending and creating various financial goals. When I logging into my Mint account, I was flabbergasted as to how much money I was spending on shopping....I am not going to post the actual number because it is embarrassing, but to give you an idea, it was equivalent to rent, ridiculous I know and that is why I was reluctant on posting this particular post up in the first place.....but, I know I am not the only person who struggles with walking away from the fabulous shoes in the window or clicking on the checkout button without realizing how many times you pulled out your wallet.

So now that I have acknowledge that I am literally a shopaholic, what do I plan to do about this sticky situation?  Simple, scale back by locking myself out of my savings and allotting myself a certain amount each week and while learning to say no.  That means eating out less, going out less and da da dunnnnn....shopping less. Tragic, but that is what happens when you overindulge.

I am going to create a series on how to scale back and work with what's in your closet and post different alternatives, tips and tricks on how to shop on a budget over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to leave feedback, questions and/or concerns down below or shoot me an email! 

(Left: J. Crew -- Middle: Jeffrey Campbell -- Right: Charles David)

xoxo

RIO