A rough day at the office, hurt feelings over an argument or moments of low self esteem can take an emotional toll on anyone. While most of us deal with these things pretty well there are some who fall into an emotional pothole of frivolous purchasing with no idea how they got there and no idea on how to get out.

All of us are guilty of a binge purchase or two from time to time, that’s no biggie, what I’m referring to is the frantic and emotionally driven shopping spree that places an added financial burden on you and/or your spouse, which will in turn add problems where they aren’t needed.

Whenever your shopping your “needs” should really outweigh you feelings, now will this always hold true? No, but you should at least give it the old college try. Check out your closet and do a walk through before shopping to see if you can purge 3 to 4 items before shopping to bring in brand new items that chances are you won’t have the space for.

There are a lot of reasons to shop, let’s face it between the special occasions, promotions and the occasional one day sale we have dozens of reasons to shop every week, but to shop because your angry, depressed, lonely or just attempting to fill a void will only result in your becoming an “emotional closet case”. Now we all know shopping is fun but trust me shopping has never really helped anyone get away from any of their problems. One great idea is to try and get in touch with a girl friend or boy friend to talk about what’s bothering you before striking out on your shopping endeavor. This will prevent you from wasting a large quantity of money shopping to make yourself feel better.

There are two great ways to prevent an emotionally cluttered closet, one of which is to “Never” shop when your feeling disgusted with yourself or your body. The clothes will only be a temporary fix that will end up disappointing you later which will lead to a major case of buyers’ remorse. The other is to avoid “get back buys”, you know, when he makes a purchase that you disapprove of and then you make an even bigger purchase to make your point. Not only is this petty it is also financially draining and will take its toll on even the best relationships.

Shopping should be a pleasant and relaxing experience fueled by a need to be fashionably fantastic, if you allow erratic emotions to dictate your shopping habits you will find that your financial burdens will soon join your emotional ones.


Always keep it simple and sexy.