Thanks for reading!

This is so true, and the sooner we can understand what being in debt means then better.

@ Mr. ToughMoneyLove – You know, I’d never considered it that way, but you’re right. Debt addicts tend to be very obsessed with their financial picture on the surface, but don’t actually know anything about it beyond that.

@ PennySeeds – While I understand that the high interest rates can be a deterrent, what happens if you need to use the card and carry a balance? I’d recommend calling at least a couple and see about lower rates. Your not wanting to fund the greedy banks could inadvertently do just that in an emergency situation. On the other hand, I applaud you finding a balance. I went from one extreme to the other. I went from shop-a-holic to cheapskate, which isn’t always good either. But, I don’t waste money very often which is a good thing – although I still buy my DVDs, so I guess I splurge a bit. Fortunately I’m not in a position where I feel the need to buy Blu-ray, they’re WAAAY to expensive for my cheapskate self!

@ Rich – You’re in the same boat as a lot of people. I myself spent a lot of time with 3 and 7. It took time to learn that three digit numbers in the savings was a good thing. Then, when it hit four digits, the learning began again because I was fiending to spend some of it. Five digits about gave me a heart attack. I started “hiding” money from myself. Not really hiding it, but I set up an online savings account and didn’t get a card to access it. I would simply “spend” money to this account and leave it there. Because I couldn’t really access it without going online to transfer, it made me really think about whether I needed to be using that money or not. Might be worthwhile to consider for your laptop goal.

As with buying on credit, I must admit that I will occasionally do this as well. Christmas time is the worst for me when it comes to justifying the bigger expenses. I really do like to give gifts to people, so I tend to spend some money come Christmas…in fact, my sister has forbid me from being my nephew anymore toys for the next two years. Apparently, I bought the entire toy store and dropped it into my sister’s house. She wasn’t pleased. Anyway, so justifying expenses is a bad habit I’m still working on.

@ Vik – I’m not sure I agree. I mean, emotional shopping does have a little bit to do with boredom and breaking up the monotony, but honestly, I think these habits are learned and it’s just the way we’ve always done things. I also think stress is another big motivator. Like the stress eater, there are stress shoppers. Those who live in a constant state of stress and tend to be stress shoppers have some of the most prolific junk you will ever see. But, debt addiction goes beyond just boredom.

This leads to clutter in the house and waste of money.

Under #4, I’ve noticed that when I buy on credit I usually try to justify buying more than I need, since if I am going to make payments on it a few extra dollars a month or a few more months of payments is not a big deal.

I make sure I have enough for bills, and savings with extra left for me. I have high interest rates on my credit cards which rather annoys me, and I keep thinking about calling Chase and Capital One to complain, but I resist.

It might be better for me to carry those high interest rates. Why? Because that’s a deterent for me to put money on them. I hate giving oodles of money to greedy creditors, and this will make sure I don’t put anything on there unless I really need to.

Fabulously Broke in the City
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver…

But it’s possible to get out of it, even if you feel like it is hopeless. There is always hope and a way out of it.

Just need to stop denying that there’s a problem, face the facts and work out a plan to start paying back the debt and budgeting.

Fabulously Broke in the City
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver…