i agree cut off the stores i used to be you and thats what got us in huge trouble... now i'm on my secound year of not shopping for fun and guess what i don't miss it and shopping honestly is not fun anymore...

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN BUT DUCK TAPE IS SILVER.

My problem is a little similar. I am obsessed with wanting my home to look good. We bought an old house that needs to be up dated, but I am always thinking and planning how I'm going to spend to make each room look good and homey.

For example, I found a great deal on 2 end tables w/ a matching coffee table under 200 dollars! I love them, but now I think that my 5x8 area rug is much to small for the coffee table I bought.

Of course, I went to school for Interior Design, so it is something I have always loved!!!
Unfortunatly, I feel the need to strive for the perfect home.

Hey Stormy I can relate to the bath and body addiction. I went shopping there several times before Christmas and also ordered online. Each time I said I was buying a Christmas gift. When it would arrive I thought OH maybe she wouldn't like that and I would keep it for myself. I have two bags of stuff from there that where supposed to be gifts included the lamb blanket and kept if all for me.
I never really considered myself a shopper. But I now realize I'm in denial. I am a shopaholic. But in a good way because I always look for good deals.

Side note... Just did spell check and shopaholic is not in there. So maybe it's not a real thing and I don't have a problem after all.

Hee...hee...hee...

This really sounds alot like me. I have always considered myself to be a good bargin hunter. But I have come to realize that I may be too good of a bargin hunter.
I love the deals and bargins at places like Goodwill, Once Upon a Child, garage sales and Church resales. I would go out and shop and buy clothes and household stuff. I would justify this by how much money I was saving by not buying at places like the mall or department stores. I would buy pants or shirts for the kids and then realize once I got home that it did not match any of the clothes they already had and didn't make outfits. But I got such a great deal I would tell myself that it was okay.
My resolution for this is that before I go to any of these places, I will check the closet and drawers for what we really need. Also, we I go to the spring resale at church, I will only buy plain, even colored items. This way all peices can be matched and made into outfits. I will also limit each child to 7 outfits. There is not need for them to have clothes to last 2 weeks before laundry when I do it almost daily.
While I know that I do not spend as much as some peple who shop at the mall and big department stores. I do know that I am not doing my family any favors for blowing money like this. I plan on keeping track of exactly how much I spend this year on clothes and then making a budget for it next year.

Stormy: I'm going through the same thing. It took 10 years for the realization to sink in. I have financial goals that I want to meet this year. If I go to the stores, I will not meet those goals. This is the only thing that is keeping me home right now.

I want to hit the BBW after Christmas sale. That would be completely foolish — I have enough stuff to last a year. DH gave me a stocking full of lotions and I also received a gift basket full of stuff from my stepmother-in-law.

Barnes and Noble has been calling my name. I want to buy all of the new diet books for 2008. I'm a complete magazine addict. I think that if I buy the magazines then I will be able to make myself a better, more interesting person -- more fit, prettier, fashionable. I have enough books to last the next couple of years. There is no need to go to the store.

J. Jill is screaming my name. There is a pocketbook on clearance that I really want. However, the one I have now still looks great.

I can go on. I think I spend to make myself feel like I have control. It's my passive-aggressive way of making myself feel better. I do the same thing with food. In the past 10 years I have managed to gain 50 pounds. Eating and spending allow me to do things that are basically forbidden without anyone calling me on it. Too bad I'm just hurting myself — my bank account and my body.

Sorry this post is so long. This has been something that's been bothering me for a while. I haven't been able to figure out the "whys" of what I do. 2008 is going to be spent exploring those "whys" and finding different ways to make me feel better about myself.

I would buy thinking that I was getting such a great deal, or I had to have it. I had so much stuff, that it would go bad before I even got to use it. I have 8 bottles of BBW soap, I only have 2 bathrooms and a kitchen. I had 9 bottles of windex, but only use 1 bottle at a time. I learned my lesson too, this year. I bought ahead for Thom, size 3T summer but he's still in 2T, and I have no 2T summer for him. Plus my thinking was, since I hated doing laundry, the more clothes I have the longer I can put off do laundry. Honestly, I don't do laundry every week except for towels and sheets every other, I do the clothes once a month.

Looking back on the money I've wasted, instead of buying 5 pairs of jeans on sale that were okay, I could have bought 1 good pair and felt like a million bucks in. Also, I shopped because I was bored and felt like I never fit in and shopping gave me a high, like I was somebody. Sad but true. The other day I had to go to Walmart to get Kelsey underwear, her's were too small and I honestly started to think of reason to wait and not go. But she really did need them so we went.

My thinking is if I have a coupon I need to buy it. I learned that from my mom and I'm starting to be okay with the fact I don't need to buy something just because of a coupon. I have a wish list that I have made up and if a really good sale comes up and I have the CASH for it and a good coupon then I'll think about it. But no more recreation shopping. I could never figure out why I never had time to exercise or scrapbooking, because I was out shopping. Good figure. I've always had a shopping problem and I'm trying really hard to stop, but then guilt falls on me too with the kids. I want them to have the best of everyting and do and see everything. But I can't go into debt to do it anymore.

SORRY SO LONG!!!

I am a bargain shopping addict. I get a high like a drug user from drugs from a great deal. I have bought Emily a bunch of summer/spring stuff. I usually go bigger bc she is very tall. I am going to go through her clothes and get ready for the consignment sales and do my best to not shop. I wear scrubs to work so I don't need work clothes. I did buy 9 (my boss gave us one for Christmas) bc we wear certain colors on certain days. I am trying to drop some weight before I have to buy me clothes. I have lost 24 pounds and I don't see buying a bunch of stuff yet. Plus if I lose 25 more pounds I can wear my old clothes and get rid of my big clothes.
I am trying to save my giftcards (target, walmart,cato) for when I feel the need to shop.
Also, I made a list of all the summer/spring clothes that I bought for Emily so I have a list with me at all times in case I see a bargain. I am thinking of taking pix with my digi so I can see the colors and get coordinating/matching pcs.

Sorry for the ramble...