Apparently, a recent study has shown that Malaysians shop too much and are driving ourselves into bankruptcy with our shopping habits. Ouch! I think that’s a bit of a generalization because there are people who do shop like maniacs, buying this that or the other without thinking twice and driving themselves into bankruptcy, and there are people who shop smart. You just have to know your limits and I’m very sure most of you stopping by here do 🙂
The study also has shown that most people are abusing their credit cards by racking up big bills and then being unable to pay them off (a credit card is not free money ok, you do have to pay it back!) and that people shop because they find shopping therapeutic.
Now, I’m not about to say it isn’t. Sometimes, when you are really down or are really stressed to the gills, indulging in a bit of retail therapy does boost the adrenaline, and sends out the happy hormones. You could probably do the same with chocolate but that’ll just send it all straight to your thighs 😛 And shopping doesn’t have to be an expensive affair. The whole lipstick economy theory has been proven right over and over. When economies are down, people buy more lipstick because its an inexpensive pick me up (plus you also look better with lipstick on 😉 )
What say you then. Do you find shopping therapeutic and do you impulse shop?
I personally try not to stress shop. Having done it before, I’ve learnt that I pick up a lot of rubbish when I stress shop, like spending more just to get a GWP. Yes I find it therapeutic to pick up a little something but when things calm down, I realise that I did not need it or that it was really ugly and I don’t know why I bothered 😛 Shopping while stressed can result in impulse shopping for the sake of buying something, which is bad for your guilt and wallet.
Retail therapy isn’t something I indulge in often also, because I am a bit of a skinflint and I don’t go out to malls very often. So I indulge in some things but not others. I may pick up a new lipstick or drugstore goodie which will keep me happy, but I won’t pick up anything too pricey unless its on sale at a very good price or its something I’ve been planning to get anyway.
If there’s a sale on, and I’m in the market for say, new clothes, I will spend a little more. But I have my limits and I tend to be a cash only shopper unless I’ve forgotten to draw money. I also pay off my credit cards in full every month so I know for a fact I’ve got things under control 🙂
I do find that having a goal to save up for helps me with my reality check. If I have to pay for a car and for a house, that takes priority over buying a new pair of Jimmy Choos just because I’ve had a bad day. Sometimes, that bad day at work may pay its dividends in the end, and then I can splurge guilt-free 😉 Also, once you’ve paid yourself and your commitments first, you’re pretty much free to splurge at will.
But what say you then? Do you find shopping therapeutic and that retail therapy is your cure for a bad day? Are you careful with your money even as you indulge in your shopping therapy or do you impulse shop and panic when you see your credit card bills? I won’t judge and neither should anyone else 🙂
Paris B
Guilty as charged 😛 But my credit card bill is paid off every month. And you’re right, nothing like a new lipstick you can break out there and then, slick on and feel better! (If I was in one of those shopping moods, I usually tell the cashier to just scan the box and toss it, give me the receipt and I’d walk out with the lippie)
See, so long as you pay off your credit card and have savings and all, who’s to stop you from splurging? 🙂 Well, me when we come to think of it 😛
i *try* as hard as possible but on the days where i’m extremely overwhelmed, i do end up whipping out the plastic and pressing “Confirm Transaction”. like legeeque though, i pay off the bill every month 🙂
as for the lipstick economy theory, i read an article the other day, where the author stated that research shows that even cheesecake and martini consumption have increased alongside lipstick. just a thought 🙂
It never helps to work near or in a mall you know LOL The temptation to just go out and BUY something is too great. I’m glad I never have to wrestle with that because by the time I get in my car, get to the mall, look for parking, I’m ready to NOT buy anything 😛 And really? Cheesecake and martinis? So a rise in obesity and alcoholism too? 😛
lol. i think when sephora opened, i was haunting that place for a week but now i’ve discovered a new lunch place (thanks to you) just opposite the road, my lunch hour is spent. you might be right about the rise in obesity and alcoholism. it’s like heavier, drunker, yet prettier women with lipstick. oh dear.
Ooh you have been heading to the RAW cafe? Haven’t been for food because I don’t go that area but their coffees are awesome! And yes heavier drunker women with crooked lipstick on 😛
My weak point….SALES. I only shop when things are on sale and only on items that I WILL use/ wear…not on items that I MAY need in the future. Made too many “MAY NEED” purchases in the past that I regretted later so I vowed not to do it again.
Been there and done that right? Sales make my head turn too but as you said, been too many “may need” purchases in the past too!
i try not to wander around the malls when i am bored because i tend to buy all sorts of junk, and i do use cc for shopping but i make sure there is no outstanding every month so i don’t get charged for interest and land myself in debt 😀
Evidently, the study didn’t take into account people like all of us who pay off our CC bills LOL! Its the interest element that scares me – its so darned high!
I usually do a lot of researching before I buy anything. A good strategy my parents have used on me is to give me a fixed amount of allowance every month, and I’m not to go begging to them when money runs out (excluding petrol expenses). This includes the phone bill, food and parking at uni ^.^ With such a limited amount of money, I found out that it is less economical to shop for lesser “dupes”. In the end, I’ll always want the “real” thing, for example drugstore VS high street lippies. So yeah. I hardly impulse shop ^.^
Sounds like your parents have taught you well with the fixed monthly income. At least this way, when you start earning your own, you (hopefully) won’t run overboard too! 😀
I used to be a ’emo’ buyer, buying most things when I was down or being stressed up. I was shocked to see in my cc bills that I was spending more than I should. *Lagi Stressed*
I have changed my attitude since, also making sure that I pay my bills on the dot. I am so glad that I have overcome that stage!
Yes yes, its actually even more stressful when the cc bill comes in at the end of the month! Makes me think “Why on earth did I go and spend THAT much?” And good thing that you wised up quickly 😀
it’s fun to shop when you are stressed out, but if i don’t get something i want, i feel even more stressed out! LOL, silly right? yeah, so i stopped doing stress shopping anymore now (except for blushes), so i actually accumulate much lesser rubbish and stuff i don’t need compared to before. but my blush stash is getting really big so i really should stop.
LeGeeque picks up lippies, i go pickup blush. you? 😀 lipstick or blush? ahahaha.
Not silly at all. If I’m out to shop and I don’t find anything with the first half hour, I know the rest of the shopping trip is a wash out and sometimes thats stressful! Actually when I’m stressed I don’t really pick up cosmetics. It bores me :O So I usually go to the supermarket 😀
I did impulse shop quite a lot when I first started working about a year ago (having an income felt insanely good after being a poor student my whole life), but usually at sales where I’d just go ahead and buy stuff that I had only been ‘thinking about buying’. I didn’t own a credit card yet at that time so thankfully I was still spending within my limits but it sure left me broke at the end of each month. So right now I am more conscious in setting aside a sum of money for saving and expenses (rent, student loans, allowances for my parents etc) as soon as my salary comes in so I have a good idea of how much I am allowed to spend on luxury items like clothes and skincare each month, and for expensive skincare items I usually plan ahead. I still succumb to temptation and bust my budget from time to time but I think there is some improvement, so fingers crossed!
Oh I know that feeling Lynne! When you first start earning your own money, you feel flush! But its good to know that you wised up quickly and are setting aside savings and the like so you can spend on luxuries and also have a little put away for a rainy day 🙂 See, they should have run a survey on all of us here 😉
“Professional” window shopper here – I usually only go to malls if there’s stuff I needed/stuff to redeem/event or other “errands” that I needed done. Or movies, of course. Mall walking is my exercise – and also a movement among the senior set in America – Google it, it’s true.
Read another article on Time (mag) property (http://t.co/bRoS82Gc) recently that people don’t buy lipstick anymore – now it’s nail polish.
My self-restraint is still better than some people I know, so the impulse buying happens once in a very blue moon. My warehouse sale budget (no matter what kind) is RM100 cash – that’s it. I also don’t have a credit card because debit card works fine in most situations and said debit card is also not linked to my bank account (meaning that I would have to consciously transfer money into the card to use it).
In short – yes, I believe in retail therapy – I get a buzz out of getting something I needed as cheaply as possible.
Nail polish huh? Yes I do notice a recent rise in the number of people writing about/using nail polish. I still can’t though so its still lippies for me 🙂 I used to splurge the most during warehouse sales. Any warehouse sales. I once spent loads at a sale for crockery and pots and pans LOL! But since I stopped hitting up the warehouse sales I’ve stopped those sorts of hauling but I can’t deny I’ve also gotten loads of good stuff cheap then 🙂
fortunately…I am living in the east coast of Malaysia..so I don’t do so much shopping…but if I were to come to KL it will be a lof of things buying at the same time…hahaha and I am impulsive buyer I wish money grow from my flower pot at home so I can just pick whenever I want and make sure that everytime I wanted to buy something I will buy it…yey for me for having to pay a lot of moolah just for my shopping needs…hahaha
Ahhh don’t we all wish for a money plant eh? For now, its just got to be that thing called “WORK” that brings in the cash hehe… 😉 At least you have an excuse though all that pent up shopping can do serious damage to the wallet eh? 🙂
Luckily I dont like shopping when I am stressed. It takes away all the fun. But yes I do indulge in a pick me up once in a while and in my case its lipstick,Kohl or nail paint. Also I make all my payments (or take out the money for the same) at the beginning of every month. Which means I never put my self in a situation. Easy!
🙂
And oh! I keep my credit card limit real low .
You sound like a very savvy shopper and a good saver too! Good on ya! 😀
Guilty as charged…I usually do shop more when I’m stressed, which is why I try my darnedest to stay away from the shops during that time (by convincing myself I should be home sleeping earlier! LOL..). But online shopping…*eeps*
That said, I usually end up succumbing to things I’ve been wanting or hankering after for a while but dithering cos of price/suitability/how to match (you get the idea, the UD 15th Anniversary Palette was a stress buy!). Still, I clear off my credit card bill at the end of the month in full so it’s not too bad right? Right?? 😛
Haha I remember you wanting that 15th Anniversary Palette – I hope its gotten lots of use since? 😉 And yeah, so long as you clear your cc bill, and aren’t in debt, you don’t add to the stats 😉
I do shop on impulse but I usually make a list so that I am more disciplined. And yes, I do find shopping therapeutic. I don’t actually get to shop in bigger malls frequently so when I do, I go all out! Hehehe…
Yes, my credit card is paid in full every month. My advise is to shop wisely and only buy what you can afford. Like you, I tend to purchase in cash or use my debit card.
I don’t have a debit card 😛 And big purchases (ahem!) go on the CC because I’m not stupid enough to carry cash around 😉 But for everything else, there’s mastercard… I meant cash 😛
I used to ‘stress shop’ but then I’d realize that I was never happy with the stuff I bought for the sake of making myself feel better. I’d find some fault with what I bought and usually end up not using it (and then my mom would swoop in and give it away 😛 ). So nowadays if I’m bored or stressed, I tell myself to stay away from the shopping malls. Better for my purse at the end of the day. 😛
I thought your Mom will swoop in and take it for her own hehe… But yes, I also realised that. I don’t think I truly own anything I really like from stress shopping although I must say some impulse purchases have been good ones 🙂
I shop when I am free. Even when I am stress but not free, no shopping. Probably eat more.
So the key is to make myself busy.
Haha… I tend to do the eating thing too. A good meal satisfies me as well as a splurge at the shops does 🙂
I used to stress shop too, but then I would end up with lots of things I didn’t really need and so I’d get even more stressed. lol. These days I try to do my research before shopping so I won’t be disappointed with my purchases.
Yes! Its when you think “Oh darn! What was I thinking when I bought THAT?” and that gets stressful too especially if it was pricey 😛
“You could probably do the same with chocolate but that’ll just send it all straight to your thighs” – Lol!! 😀
I’m all for retail therapy, so as long as i don’t starve myself at the end of the month. I totally agree with your concept of paying yourself first – its important to manage your money wisely and feed the needs first, then wants. I do splurge sometimes, but i make sure i pay off my credit card bills every month so i guess i’m still doing ok! 😛
True wot that about chocolate? 😀
So long as you aren’t starving, aren’t owing the bank a ton of money, have savings for a rainy day and have your commitments covered, I think you’re good for an ocassional splurge 🙂
I do stress shop unfortunately. Not so much lipsticks for me, but small things that I’ve saved on various shopping sites… ^^; But like you, I ALWAYS pay off the full balance on my credit card.
Good habit to pay off your credit card! That way, even if you splurge, you know that its with money you have, not money you wish you had 🙂
I’m afraid I do. Something I learned from Mummy dearest (shh don’t tell her I said that). She shops when she’s pissed off (I’ve been to many of her retail therapies). I shop when I’m feeling low. Nothing too expensive though, usually little pick-me-ups from the pharmacy or the departmental stores. Credit cards always paid off in full at the end of the month 🙂
So long as CCs are paid up and you aren’t starving without a roof over your head, you’re still alright 🙂 I went through a stage of shopping while pissed off too. And unlike when I’m stressed, when I’m pissed, I tend to really splurge. So yeah, learning to control the temper and not go near a mall while angry helps me 😉
I sometimes wonder if I’m really a girl because I don’t find shopping to be therapeutic! I “shop like a man” and know exactly what I’m looking for and only go to that store to get what I need.
I tend to go for quality over quantity, so I research whatever I’m purchasing before I take the plunge. I get more satisfaction out of waiting to make that large purchase for something I really, really want rather than a pick-me-up here and there.
I secretly want to be that stereotypical girly girl impulse shopper, though!
Of course you’re a girl Peach! 😀 You have just refined the art of shopping 😉 And I do tend to agree with you about going for quality over quantity. Learnt it the hard way but am now on that track – less is more! 😀