Is there a link between being depressed and being in debt? I guess this is a chicken and the egg kind of question. Lots, I mean LOTS of women use shopping as a chemical pick me up. (I have a friend that tripled her wardrobe while going through a particularly bad break-up.)
The problem is when the new purchase glow is fading the dreaded credit card bill comes in and if you can’t afford to pay the balance in full, you start to feel depressed again.
We should not be shopping willy nilly anyway. Planning is our friend. Now say it with me planning is our friend. Keep repeating while walking past that shop window.
I think all this ‘the end is nigh’ in the media about the credit crunch is making us all very depressed so what do we do? Buy luxury items. Make hay while the sun is shining; we could be living in a cardboard box next week.
A case in point –
The other day I wanted to treat my beloved to a lovely M&S ‘pop in the oven’ leg of lamb. This is not something I do often, I can’t remember the last time I bought dinner at M&S and it was not on offer. I was only planning on buying the meat there then preparing a salad and defrosting bread from my market shop on Saturday. So off to the shops I went and who would believe that two quite large outlets in central London would have nothing left on the shelves. I thought the rest of London and possibly the world were supposed to be cutting back. I couldn’t even depression spend because the rest of west London got there first.
Do you feel the urge to shop when feeling down? What do you fancy buying? Does something small and inexpensive fulfil the same need as something pricey?
You know, I have to tell you, I really enjoy this blog and the insight from everyone who participates. I find it to be refreshing and very informative. I wish there were more blogs like it. Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted, I
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Vx
Good question! I especially like your point that, if the credit market really is going to close up, people may rush out to spend now, while they have the chance. This, of course, will only make their debt situations worse. Yikes, endless cycle. I don’t find myself depression shopping. When I’m down I tend to stay in and be a hermit. My struggle is not spending when I’m feeling happy!
Good advice. I especially liked your point that people may be reacting to the predicted credit crunch by going out and buying more. What a disaster that will be! I don’t shop when I’m depressed, preferring to hole up and be a hermit. My challenge is not shopping when I’m happy! I tried to post a comment a little while ago and it did not appear to go through. I apologize if I end up commenting twice!
Great post, I think there is a big connection. I used to be just like that, but now I focus on how great it feels to be repaying my debts rather than having lots of new things. When I want to buy something that is a little bit too expensive, I ask myself ‘will this purchase matter to me in 6 month’s time?’ If not, I try to talk myself out of buying it.
Great site, btw 🙂
Oh, and with regards to the expensive meat cuts M&S, apparently the more expensive supermarkets such as M&S and Waitrose have seen a big rise in their 241 and reduced items (that they’ve brought it especially to help during the credit crunch), and while those items are flying off the shelves, so are the top of the range products, like expensive champagne and prime meat cuts. I read in the paper that people are cutting back in some areas of grocery shooping so that they can still afford to treat themsleves without blowing the budget. Also people are eating out less, and so are cooking nicer meals at home.
I read the same article, I think it was in the Times. Thanks for commenting!