Confessions of a Shopaholic

I promised myself this month to focus on eating less and spending less... but as I know all too well from when I turned around my unhealthy habits, it's not an easy process. Tackling the shopaholic side of me is proving to be difficult. Since I started my job 2 years ago, I got really used to having an income that supported my shopping habits. I wasn't one for crazy expensive things, but I CANNOT turn down a good deal. Case in point... Victoria Secret Semi Annual Sale. And the shipping discounts they were offering before Christmas. needless to stay I've bought entirely more things than one person can wear. All because I convinced myself "this is such a good deal! It's better than if I bought it at full price later..." But, it's still costing me more than not buying it at all!

Anyway, to bring this topic back to the main theme of my blog. I'm impulsive when it comes to shopping, just like food. I go into it with the BEST of intentions... and then it all goes to crap when I saw a huge bin of clearance bras, or a delicious menu of food that I want to eat. It's extra calories/money that I don't really have to spend or need to spend, but I do anyway. I have a money budget set up just like I have a food budget (MFP diary plan). But then I go and waste it when I could be saving up for a treat. It's a mentality that I have to get over. It's difficult to avoid being in these situations all together. I'm going to end up in stores on occasion, or browsing online, or out to dinner. But I need to start making better choices in what I spend my money/calories on.

Since I spoiled my stomach with all the food I ate in December, it's not too happy that I've cut back to 1400 or less calories. But I can't let that be an excuse to eat more, it's just a matter of planning out small snacks and eating right. Same goes for shopping. I went a bit overboard in the last month and now I have to pay for it (literally, my credit card bills are due, LOL). I need to plan out my spending so that I can afford things like my condo bills and still have some money for dinners, gifts, and the occasional thing for myself. I also don't believe in carrying a credit card balance except in certain circumstances, so at least I haven't dug myself into a hole.

My action plan is to take a step back. Before I buy something or eat something, I have to think about it. Walk around the store holding it. Let is sit in my online shopping cart for a while. Or thoroughly scan a menu to see what better choices I could be making, instead of jumping on the most delicious thing I can find. I'm already lower than my weigh in from last Friday, so that's success in that department. And yes, I've resisted buying the $50 worth of items in my VS online shopping cart. Seeing the small successes helps, I'm just impatient and want to be back down to 150 (and lower!)... and have more money in my savings, haha. I'm finding it quite interesting that my relationship with food and shopping are so similar... but at least that allows me to tackle both issues at once! Might be painful, but it's a change for the better. And then I'll have money to buy some new smaller clothes if I need them! :)

I just scored 224 points on the Bzz Agent Smarterer quiz!