Quote From: jb7ctxI havent heard of the book you mentioned before, but I think I might have to check it out. Thanks! I am pretty good at tracking my spending, but my problem is every time I go to a walmart or a target, I always end up spending alot of money, so I avoid them stores as much as possible. I am what you would call a "compulsive" buyer. If I see something I like, I get it. I'm not bad off in debt but if I keep getting out like I have lately, then, I will be. My bills get paid for sure and so do my credit cards but its like the more I pay, the more I charge. YIKES! I have only 2 credit cards and one is high but not maxed out (yet) so my goal is to NOT charge anymore and hopefully get them paid off before Christmas, so I can charge again:) I am going to look for that book, and I hope I dont have to go to walmart or target to find it. lol
What I discovered was that I had 2 list when I went shopping. The one that was written and the another list that was in my head. One of the things that Self Matters taught me was to listen to what I was telling myself so 1 day, I sat down with paper and pencil and made a list of all the THEMES that were going on in my head. It goes like this for me:
- Lose weight
- exercise
- Cook
- Clean
- Sew
- Weed yard
- finances
finally it ends with MINDLESS SPENDING. What I discovered was if I reviewed the list before I go shopping to see WHERE I STOOD ON EACH OF THESE, I would see the 2nd Shopping LIst emerging.
And using the question: Do I really Need IT? doesn't work because I say yes. So now, I'm going to do something different. Not sure what, but I'm working on it.
It takes time and the hard part was getting past the guilt and shame that I couldn't do better. I am doing better! I'm a lot better than I was a month ago or even 6 weeks ago.
I also don't go shopping if I'm upset or anything. I plan on my shopping trips and make sure I have a list when I do go shopping cause I stand a much better chance of making it thru the store when I do!
