Katy's husband, Michael, says her shopping is getting excessive. "I think Katy's obsession goes further than most women," he says, admitting that he had to cut up her credit cards. "When are you finally going to be happy with the amount that you have? That's what scares me."
"I buy things a lot at the beginning of the school year because I am a teacher. I don't wear anything twice," Katy boasts. She owns about 120 pairs of shoes and 40 different purses. The most outrageous purchase she ever made was a $600 Louis Vuitton purse.
Katy also likes the attention she gets from wearing designer duds. "It's a status thing," she says. "When you're walking in the mall, with the purse that Jessica Simpson has, or even wearing the shoes that Cameron Diaz just had in the magazine, people notice."
She acknowledges that her addiction is out of control. "I end up transferring money from savings or dipping into our own family account and spending some money that I shouldn't," she says, turning to Dr. Phil.
"So what do you think after watching that taped piece?" Dr. Phil asks Katy.
She replies, "It's pretty bad."
When Katy starts to explain that the attention makes her feel important, Dr. Phil interrupts, "Wouldn't that be nice if you could buy importance? If you could just like buy stuff and you became someone of importance."
"My husband gives me a reasonable amount, but I can't stick with it," she admits. "The problem is I don't know how to budget, to save, to stick with what I've got and not only that, to be happy with what I've got."
"Well, here's a clue. Stop measuring your self worth as a function
Katy replies, "No, sadly I don't. But when you put it that way, yes."
Katy shows off her designer shoes to Dr. Phil. After commenting on them, Dr. Phil says, "You don't want to be a sucker, do you? You don't want to do that."