Retail therapy is the act of shopping to improve one’s mood. This is common among people seeking relief from stress, trauma, or any other emotional discomfort. Truly, shopping can provide a sense of happiness, but it is only for a while; it fades off as time goes on. Some may last within a few seconds to a few days, unless you shopped for things you really need and have been longing to get. But more often than not, some individuals who engage in retail therapy buy impulsively. Retail therapy itself often implies impulsive or unnecessary spending, which can lead to feelings of regret once the initial excitement wears off.

Despite its temporary benefits, retail therapy can pose long-term financial risks if you don’t practice it with caution. According to a survey by the Harris Poll, almost 63% of women and 39% of men in North America practice retail therapy as a way to cope with stress. However, 50% of these individuals eventually regret their purchases due to financial strain or the realisation that the purchases were outrightly unnecessary.

This then strikes a point that, at the point of purchase, you feel good about it, which means you could go overboard with spending, and you end up overspending or even run into serious debts as a result. In this blog, we will look at how you can still engage in retail therapy without overspending. Let’s get started.

Tips to Curb Overspending 

Individuals who engage in retail therapy might not even realise they are doing so; they are just acting on impulse to lift their spirits.

Recognising Emotional Triggers

The first step is identifying what drives one to indulge in retail therapy. Common emotional triggers include stress, depression, anxiety, or feelings of dissatisfaction with one’s situation. Shoppers need to be aware of these feelings and see them as potential prompts for unplanned spending. Keeping a journal of your moods and purchases can help establish patterns that lead to overspending.

For example, are there things you bought and later regretted buying? Think about what happened in your life at the time, or the mood you were in. This will help you become more intentional when such thing happens again.

Setting Emotional Boundaries

Once you identify the triggers, you need to set emotional boundaries. This involves creating a mental structure that separates your feelings from spending. Before buying anything, you should ask yourself if you are buying out of need or as a reaction to certain emotions. You could try setting a cooling-off period, where you wait a day or two before buying, see if you still strongly feel like making such purchase.

Mindful Shopping Environment

This means avoiding high-pressure sales environments and going for quieter or less crowded shopping times. You may also want to avoid going to shops that charge exorbitant prices. There are shops that have decent prices, and there are those with sky-reaching prices. You know what happens when you go to such places during your downtime, you may end up accruing massive credit card debt.

Create a Needs-Based Shopping List

Rather than wander around stores looking for what will take your breath away, or browsing online without a plan, you can make a list of your needs. Your list should only include items that are necessary. Try to stick to the list and ensure you don’t get tempted into buying what you didn’t plan for.

Have an Accountability Partner 

Having an accountability partner, like a friend or family member, can also help control spending. When you share shopping plans and post-purchase results with someone else, they  can give an honest feedback and judge your behavior as to whether it is impulsive or not. In other words, this partner can give a second opinion on whether a purchase is justifiable or not.

Meditation

You may also want to engage in meditation and mindfulness. This can enhance self-awareness, which could help you recognise when you are shopping to fill an emotional void rather than a genuine need. Reflective practices can also promote a greater sense of contentment with what one already has, reducing the desire to acquire new things.

Alternatives to Retail Therapy

Retail therapy is not the only or the healthiest way to manage stress, emotional instability, trauma, sadness, or boredom. Here are some alternatives to retail therapy that can help you manage emotions more effectively.

Physical Activity

Physical exercise is a mood booster. Activities like yoga, walking, jogging, or even dancing are natural stress relievers and mood enhancers. Regular physical activity helps in managing stress and anxiety, and  also improves overall physical health.

Mindfulness and Meditation

Regular meditation can lead to deeper insights into your emotional triggers and more effective management strategies.

Social Connections

Spending time with friends and family or engaging in social groups provides emotional support and can reduce feelings of isolation. Sometimes, you should be with people that care about you, when you see them around you, it gives you the emotional support you need. You may have a good time laughing, playing games, etc. You wouldn’t have time to go shopping, and if you do, it won’t be because you feel sad, but because it’s what you absolutely want to do.

See a Therapist 

Opening up to a professional therapist could help you in dealing with the root cause of what you’re battling with. Retail therapy handles things on the surface, and like we earlier established, it fixes you temporarily. A therapist would help you and guide you on the steps to take to manage your emotions, so you can have an absolute healing.

Conclusion

Retail therapy is not actually bad, after all, it’s therapeutic. But we need to know where to draw the line. If not handled carefully, it could lead to debt and regrets that could end up making you feel worse. However, if you’re already in debt due to retail therapy or anything at all, there is what to do.

Effective debt management is crucial for financial health. High-interest debt can cripple your ability to save. When you manage your debt wisely, you will have more resources to allocate towards savings and investments.

So, how do you manage your debt wisely?

There’s no single correct answer to that, but we can assure you that you will get a solution that will suit your financial situation when you speak with one of our debt experts at EmpireOne Credit. Your debt can be reduced by up to 80%, and interest will stop immediately. Call us at (416) 900-2324 to schedule a free consultation with us. Being debt-free feels good!