Following up on Kristin’s post this morning, we thought we’d share this infographic about compulsive spending, which came from MoneyRates.com.
Courtesy of: MoneyRates.com
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This article is about Budgeting, Consumerism, Debt, Shopping
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This is a very interesting graphic. I am surprised that just about as many men are compulsive shoppers as women. I guess I’m just used tot he stereotype of men hating shopping.
I know I could have been labeled this after graduating from college when I couldn’t find a job. I would “hide” my shopping and kept opening up credit cards. Luckily I got the root of the issue and ended my old ways.
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Men just don’t necessarily shop for the same stuff that women shop for.
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Yeah, the infographic shows the woman with shopping bags, but it should show the man in a car he can’t afford!
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I answered yes to binge buying and yes to retail therapy (dealing with stress).
I have a tendency not to do any shopping or buying for months and then I get into a buying cycle. I’ve tried to figure out why this happens, but it is a mystery.
I don’t like the mall, but I enjoy perusing online sites and catalogs so I often engage in retail therapy when I’m stressed out, although it doesn’t always lead to purchases. One of the things I do quite regularly is to shop online but not check out, meaning I don’t actually make the purchase I just go through the motions of finding things I like, in my size, in my color and then I put it in my little online shopping bag and then close the browser. My Amazon shopping court has items in it that have been there for years. Amazon is extra fun because when I log in it will tell me that item X is not .50 less or item Y is .50 more.
Overall, I don’t think I have a problem because I rely on our allowance system to limit me on a week to week, month to month. I can’t spend more than my biweekly allowance unless I save up for it. Right now I’m saving up for a painting.
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I know what you mean about buying cycles! I tend to buy most of my clothes in the fall for the simple reason that I look better in fall colours than spring, summer or winter colours. (I typically buy multi-season clothing, which is saying a lot in Canada!) Once I get what I need, sometimes I need to draw the line even if I’m still below my budget.
I can see how people get into buying cycles/binges at Christmas. Sometimes the more you buy, the more you want to buy. It can be worse when you’re feeling altruistic because it’s for someone else.
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I’m not much of a compulsive spender, but I do have a tendency to feel that I really want those shoes or other stuff. If I really want to spend on something obviously out of my budget, I’d use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, in which I’d tap on various body parts on the problem and how to solve it) or affirmations to self like “I am happy and at peace with what I have.” So there.
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Interesting infographic, but I noticed some of the stats are from 2006-2007. I wonder how they would look post-recession?
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Me, too. I was utterly flummoxed to see Bakersfield, CA in the top 10. But given that Bakersfield is ground zero for one of the worst foreclosure clusters in the state … maybe not so surprising.
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I like the graphics- and interesting that men and women are almost at par in spending despite the stereotypes.
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I wonder about the income level of these people.
PS This infographic is VERY well done.
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Oh no… Now GRS is sporting infographics? Whelp, it’s been fun, GRS. Time to move on to other sites that don’t regurgitate other people’s often inaccurate & misguided “data”. The same thing has happened on other personal finance sites and it’s a real shame.
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I do find it interesting they do not have the income levels. It is interesting three of the places are also very tech central areas. SF, SJ, and Austin have booming tech industries. I wonder if this has anything to do with anything. This is some good food for thought.
Adam
P.S. Where did Bakersfield come from?
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I feel like I could advertise for a compulsive budgeter instead – do you feel sick knowing something must be purchased? Do you obsessively track every dollar you spend? Do you check you bank account 10 times a day and make month by month plans of your debt/savings and re-adjust them every week?
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oh, man, that is SO ME! but, in my defense, i am a 31yo newlywed with $100K in educational loan debt (the remainder will be forgiven after 10 yrs of repayment if i’ve been in public service which i intend to do). neither of our parents will contribute to our home purchase (coming in 2013 or 2014) and we want to have 2 kids via surrogacy (very expensive as well).
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This is really interesting because it highlights the psychological issues, rather than just the monetary value. I go through periods of stress-shopping but it doesn’t affect my budget since, for example, I would go and buy 15 DVDs at a budget store for the same cost as one brand new one – but it’s not necessarily that I particularly want DVDs, I just want to buy them. The trouble is that by indulging in a financially sensible way, I’m basically sweeping the root issue under the carpet. Any thoughts on how to tackle this?
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