Female Shopaholics Face Debt Crisis
27/02/2007
Shopaholicism is becoming increasingly common in the UK and it is thrusting many into the jaws of financial strife, a new report claims.
For the purposes of its eye-opening study, uSwitch defined shopaholics as those for whom 50 per cent or more of their unsecured debt can be attributed to fashion. The impartial price comparison service has calculated that there are 765,642 British women fighting against this level of profligacy, with some spending more than £1,800 a year on clothes.
The research suggests that these shopaholics have an average personal shopping debt of more than £8,000, contributing to a collective debt of £61.96 million.
According to uSwitch, credit card debt among British women as a whole has now topped £11 billion and unsecured loans for this group have reached an astonishing £20 billion. British women also have an average overdraft in excess of £500 and a third rely on this every single month. Total overdraft debt among women in the UK, on the basis of these figures, has now reached £4.6 billion.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy, for uSwitch, observed: "Fat used to be a feminist issue, but it looks like it's been overtaken by debt. In today's celebrity obsessed society, where women emulate the lifestyles and shopping habits of their favourite fashionistas, it's not surprising that women are becoming more interested in size zero than nought per cent APR."
Research suggests that female shopaholics earn an average of £18,959 a year, which is slightly higher than the national average of £17,784. Unsurprisingly, these individuals have only managed to save £4,485, which compares to an average of £10,525.
Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol have the greatest concentration of shopaholics, but the Brummies are leading the way in terms of the amount of money spent. Shopaholics in Birmingham are spending an average of £1,813 a year on clothes and shoes.
Interestingly, research company Mintel reported in 2004 that shopaholic women were something of a dying breed in the UK. More than a quarter of those questioned said that they disliked shopping and would only head to clothes shops when absolutely necessary.
http://www.financedaily.co.uk/showNews.aspx?loadID=00322
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Sunday, 15 June 2008
The Psychology of Shopping / At your Leisure - 14 March 2005
At your Leisure - 14 March 2005
The Psychology of Shopping
Image copyright: Lotus Head, stock.xchng
The 1970s giants of retailing made it their business to 'pile it high, sell it cheap'. Organisations such as Tesco and Walmart made their names by following this policy. The thinking was that consumers would buy as long as they believed they were getting cheap prices and that the goods were of reasonable quality.
In the past thirty years, retailers have become increasingly sophisticated in their methods of parting consumers from their money. In grocery markets, shops have used a range of techniques to create the right conditions psychologically for consumers to buy what the retailers want them to buy: the aroma of freshly-baked bread is often wafted through a supermarket in order to stimulate demand for products from the in-store bakery, or just to make shoppers feel hungry.
But what other methods are there? Where is the limit to the use of psychological techniques in retailing? How can store design be used to maximise revenues? This 'At your Leisure' takes a look at the retail experience presented to UK shoppers and how the use of space can be applied to the design of the urban environment. It also analyses how one retail giant, IKEA, has harnessed some of these psychological techniques in its store design. Finally we ask whether some of IKEA's marketing techniques may call into question their ability to ensure the safety of their customers.
What psychological techniques are in use?
Image: Products with the highest margins are stocked at eye-level in supermarkets. Copyright: Dan Tinianow, stock.xchng
Shopping is a major leisure activity. Try asking many people what they like to do in their spare time and you can guarantee that a large number of them will nominate a trip to their local mall. Why is this? What do we get out of the shopping experience? Is it all about the therapeutic benefit of buying a product or service that we desperately want? Or are other forces at work when we enter the shopping centre? Let's look at some standard techniques which have long been seen as successful in retail markets. Examples of these include the following:
Pricing at psychologically sensitive points, for example at £29.99
Locating so-called 'anchor' stores in malls/shopping arcades, attracting people into the mall and increasing sales throughout the centre by boosting footfall to other stores
Additionally, the benefits of using so-called 'shelf psychology' are applied widely by high street retailers:
Products identified by the retailer as impulse buys are placed at the ends of aisles
Own-brand products are positioned alongside premium brands, often leading to consumers buying a cheaper choice own-brand item rather than a premium priced one
Stacking the products with the highest margins (products with the greatest difference between cost to retailer and revenue gained from selling it to a consumer) at eye-level, as it is known that consumers are more likely to buy products in their line of sight
Retail business organisations also try to gain benefit by designing the shopping experience in order to maximise revenue. They often base this policy on some well-known features of human psychology, namely that:
We are more at ease when shopping in or walking through urban areas when others are around us
The routes we use follow clear lines of sight
These features mean that urban areas where it's hard to see from one point to another are avoided by shoppers. As a psychological response to these conditions, we simply don't want to be there. Left as they are, these areas will wither and die.
What does this mean for UK urban areas?
Use of innovative techniques of urban design to create better, more attractive and safer places
A company at the forefront of this work is Space Syntax Limited whose techniques were developed at University College London and commercially 'spun out' as an urban environment consultancy
The company's methods can be used to breath new life into areas and can be applied to towns and cities and their retail or historical centres
Projects that Space Syntax have been involved in include the Millennium Bridge between Tate Modern and St Paul's, London
Image: The Millennium Bridge between Tate Modern and St Paul's, London. Copyright: mmuzxer, stock.xchng
What of the out-of-town shops, the carpet warehouses, furniture showrooms and electrical superstores?
They tend to adopt similar techniques, but in these locations which are often on main trunk roads and motorways, the car is king
This is especially true where consumers have no choice but to transport their purchases home themselves
Some of these businesses have successfully combined the techniques of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets with selling larger, traditionally higher value products. One of the best examples of this is IKEA.
The Psychology of Shopping
Image copyright: Lotus Head, stock.xchng
The 1970s giants of retailing made it their business to 'pile it high, sell it cheap'. Organisations such as Tesco and Walmart made their names by following this policy. The thinking was that consumers would buy as long as they believed they were getting cheap prices and that the goods were of reasonable quality.
In the past thirty years, retailers have become increasingly sophisticated in their methods of parting consumers from their money. In grocery markets, shops have used a range of techniques to create the right conditions psychologically for consumers to buy what the retailers want them to buy: the aroma of freshly-baked bread is often wafted through a supermarket in order to stimulate demand for products from the in-store bakery, or just to make shoppers feel hungry.
But what other methods are there? Where is the limit to the use of psychological techniques in retailing? How can store design be used to maximise revenues? This 'At your Leisure' takes a look at the retail experience presented to UK shoppers and how the use of space can be applied to the design of the urban environment. It also analyses how one retail giant, IKEA, has harnessed some of these psychological techniques in its store design. Finally we ask whether some of IKEA's marketing techniques may call into question their ability to ensure the safety of their customers.
What psychological techniques are in use?
Image: Products with the highest margins are stocked at eye-level in supermarkets. Copyright: Dan Tinianow, stock.xchng
Shopping is a major leisure activity. Try asking many people what they like to do in their spare time and you can guarantee that a large number of them will nominate a trip to their local mall. Why is this? What do we get out of the shopping experience? Is it all about the therapeutic benefit of buying a product or service that we desperately want? Or are other forces at work when we enter the shopping centre? Let's look at some standard techniques which have long been seen as successful in retail markets. Examples of these include the following:
Pricing at psychologically sensitive points, for example at £29.99
Locating so-called 'anchor' stores in malls/shopping arcades, attracting people into the mall and increasing sales throughout the centre by boosting footfall to other stores
Additionally, the benefits of using so-called 'shelf psychology' are applied widely by high street retailers:
Products identified by the retailer as impulse buys are placed at the ends of aisles
Own-brand products are positioned alongside premium brands, often leading to consumers buying a cheaper choice own-brand item rather than a premium priced one
Stacking the products with the highest margins (products with the greatest difference between cost to retailer and revenue gained from selling it to a consumer) at eye-level, as it is known that consumers are more likely to buy products in their line of sight
Retail business organisations also try to gain benefit by designing the shopping experience in order to maximise revenue. They often base this policy on some well-known features of human psychology, namely that:
We are more at ease when shopping in or walking through urban areas when others are around us
The routes we use follow clear lines of sight
These features mean that urban areas where it's hard to see from one point to another are avoided by shoppers. As a psychological response to these conditions, we simply don't want to be there. Left as they are, these areas will wither and die.
What does this mean for UK urban areas?
Use of innovative techniques of urban design to create better, more attractive and safer places
A company at the forefront of this work is Space Syntax Limited whose techniques were developed at University College London and commercially 'spun out' as an urban environment consultancy
The company's methods can be used to breath new life into areas and can be applied to towns and cities and their retail or historical centres
Projects that Space Syntax have been involved in include the Millennium Bridge between Tate Modern and St Paul's, London
Image: The Millennium Bridge between Tate Modern and St Paul's, London. Copyright: mmuzxer, stock.xchng
What of the out-of-town shops, the carpet warehouses, furniture showrooms and electrical superstores?
They tend to adopt similar techniques, but in these locations which are often on main trunk roads and motorways, the car is king
This is especially true where consumers have no choice but to transport their purchases home themselves
Some of these businesses have successfully combined the techniques of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets with selling larger, traditionally higher value products. One of the best examples of this is IKEA.
The Psychology of Shopping
28 March 2006 By: Vlad Tarko, Senior Editor, Sci-Tech News
The Psychology of Shopping
How do you choose what to buy and why do you choose a certain store?
Researchers from MIT have shown that people are most susceptible to be influenced by
advertisers and promotions at the entrance of the store. According to the scientists, people
usually don't have their shopping goals very clearly pre-determined; they decide not only
what specific product to buy but also what kind of product they want to buy during their
wondering through the supermarket's aisles.
"Consumers start with fuzzy shopping goals, which become more concrete as the shopping
experience progresses," explain Leonard Lee and Dan Ariely. "Because of the initial lack of
concreteness of their goals, consumers' sensitivity to external cues is likely to be higher in
the earlier stage of their shopping when their goals are more malleable."
Lee and Ariely have conceived a series of tests showing that consumers can be influenced
to spend more or less than usual, depending on the conditional coupons presented to them
at the entrance. On the other hand, when the coupons were given inside the store they had
little effect.
"When the required spending level is higher than their typical spending level, they spend
more; when the required spending is lower, they spend less," write the authors. "This
experiment also demonstrates that customers' spending tends to shift with the minimum
spending conditions stated on their coupons."
In another related study, also to appear in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of
Consumer Research, researchers from the Northwestern University have documented the
so-called paradox of choice: customers generally want to have as many options as possible
but at the same time want to be able to decide what to buy as easily as possible.
Alexander Chernev explained how we generally get around this paradox by observing that
our shopping experience is "a decision process that comprises two different stages:
selecting an assortment and, subsequently, selecting a particular option from that
assortment."
Thus, the two conflicting goals, "maximal flexibility and minimal decision complexity", each
operate in a different stage of the shopping experience. The interesting conclusion of the
study is that large stores may get many customers inside (because the goal of maximal
flexibility functions in the first stage of the shopping experience), but then these customers
may not buy so many products as they otherwise would (in a smaller store) simply because
they cannot decide (the decision complexity is too large).
In other words, large stores attract many customers but there is a downfall: "increasing the
size of the assortment tends to complicate the decision process and decrease the overall
probability of purchase", writes Chernev. Thus, there exists an optimal size of the store,
optimal in the sense that customers are spending in there the largest amounts of money
buying the largest number of products.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Psychology-of-Shopping-20432.shtml
The Psychology of Shopping
How do you choose what to buy and why do you choose a certain store?
Researchers from MIT have shown that people are most susceptible to be influenced by
advertisers and promotions at the entrance of the store. According to the scientists, people
usually don't have their shopping goals very clearly pre-determined; they decide not only
what specific product to buy but also what kind of product they want to buy during their
wondering through the supermarket's aisles.
"Consumers start with fuzzy shopping goals, which become more concrete as the shopping
experience progresses," explain Leonard Lee and Dan Ariely. "Because of the initial lack of
concreteness of their goals, consumers' sensitivity to external cues is likely to be higher in
the earlier stage of their shopping when their goals are more malleable."
Lee and Ariely have conceived a series of tests showing that consumers can be influenced
to spend more or less than usual, depending on the conditional coupons presented to them
at the entrance. On the other hand, when the coupons were given inside the store they had
little effect.
"When the required spending level is higher than their typical spending level, they spend
more; when the required spending is lower, they spend less," write the authors. "This
experiment also demonstrates that customers' spending tends to shift with the minimum
spending conditions stated on their coupons."
In another related study, also to appear in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of
Consumer Research, researchers from the Northwestern University have documented the
so-called paradox of choice: customers generally want to have as many options as possible
but at the same time want to be able to decide what to buy as easily as possible.
Alexander Chernev explained how we generally get around this paradox by observing that
our shopping experience is "a decision process that comprises two different stages:
selecting an assortment and, subsequently, selecting a particular option from that
assortment."
Thus, the two conflicting goals, "maximal flexibility and minimal decision complexity", each
operate in a different stage of the shopping experience. The interesting conclusion of the
study is that large stores may get many customers inside (because the goal of maximal
flexibility functions in the first stage of the shopping experience), but then these customers
may not buy so many products as they otherwise would (in a smaller store) simply because
they cannot decide (the decision complexity is too large).
In other words, large stores attract many customers but there is a downfall: "increasing the
size of the assortment tends to complicate the decision process and decrease the overall
probability of purchase", writes Chernev. Thus, there exists an optimal size of the store,
optimal in the sense that customers are spending in there the largest amounts of money
buying the largest number of products.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Psychology-of-Shopping-20432.shtml
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
shopping is my life/ bbc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00c0cd1
ep 1
Top stylist Faye Sawyer and personal development coach Nick Jankel try to help shopping addicts curb their excesses. 36-year-old IT consultant Nikki Moore is addicted to high-end fashion, gadgets and pampering, but despite her glamorous lifestyle she wants more out of life. Faye and Nick confront her with a year's worth of her shopping excesses on the conveyor belt of shame. Can they transform aspiring writer Nikki into a less indulgent shopper and help her discover the life she really wants?
ep2
Stylist Faye Sawyer and personal development coach Nick Jankel confront shopping addicts about their excesses. 26-year-old Louise Hendry is hooked on shopping for high street fashion fixes, spending much of her 15,000 pound salary in the process and causing issues in her relationships. Faye and Nick show her a year's worth of her excesses on their conveyor belt of shame, but can they transform her into a more savvy shopper and help her fulfil her dream to become a top fashion photographer?
ep3
Stylist Faye Sawyer and personal development coach Nick Jankel try to help shopping addicts curb their excesses. 34-year-old IT consultant Andy Nicolaou can't stop shopping. In a year he's spent a phenomenal 100,000 pounds on extravagant gifts, flashy cars and designer clothes. On the surface he's got the lot, but all bachelor Andy really wants is true love. The team confront Andy with his entire year's worth of shopping excesses on their conveyor belt of shame. Can they transform him into a more selective shopper?
ep 1
Top stylist Faye Sawyer and personal development coach Nick Jankel try to help shopping addicts curb their excesses. 36-year-old IT consultant Nikki Moore is addicted to high-end fashion, gadgets and pampering, but despite her glamorous lifestyle she wants more out of life. Faye and Nick confront her with a year's worth of her shopping excesses on the conveyor belt of shame. Can they transform aspiring writer Nikki into a less indulgent shopper and help her discover the life she really wants?
ep2
Stylist Faye Sawyer and personal development coach Nick Jankel confront shopping addicts about their excesses. 26-year-old Louise Hendry is hooked on shopping for high street fashion fixes, spending much of her 15,000 pound salary in the process and causing issues in her relationships. Faye and Nick show her a year's worth of her excesses on their conveyor belt of shame, but can they transform her into a more savvy shopper and help her fulfil her dream to become a top fashion photographer?
ep3
Stylist Faye Sawyer and personal development coach Nick Jankel try to help shopping addicts curb their excesses. 34-year-old IT consultant Andy Nicolaou can't stop shopping. In a year he's spent a phenomenal 100,000 pounds on extravagant gifts, flashy cars and designer clothes. On the surface he's got the lot, but all bachelor Andy really wants is true love. The team confront Andy with his entire year's worth of shopping excesses on their conveyor belt of shame. Can they transform him into a more selective shopper?
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Confessions of a shopaholic
Confessions of a shopaholic
I racked up £32,000 on four credit cards.. ..the only cure was to go cold turkey for a year
By Kate Jackson 7/01/2008
Related Articles
Get rid of your Christmas debt hangover
More Top Stories
Have your say on What are you talking about? in our Forums
News pictures
Related Tags
alexis hall, shopping
(What's this?)
With the January sales in full swing, imagine how hard it must be for a hopeless shopaholic to resist the lure of those massive discounts.
But clothes-mad Alexis Hall now knows how to resist temptation. She has not frittered away any money for a whole year, after deciding that 12 months of cold turkey was the only way to clear her debts.
For the 39-year-old from Glasgow, shopping was an all-consuming addiction. Whether it was another pair of Gina shoes, the season's must have skirt or a trendy designer bag, she just had to have it - no matter what it cost.
But when she realised her habit had landed her with a total debt of £31,637.84, she knew something drastic had to be done. So on May 15, 2006, she quit shopping.
"Until I sat down with all the bills and added them up, I had no idea I owed as much as I did," says Alexis, a media relations officer for Strathclyde police. "It was quite a shock to see it was nearly £32,000 - more than my yearly salary."
Alexis had perfected the knack for justifying her daily splurging.
"Years ago, a friend of mine told me that you shouldn't look at the price, but work out how much it would cost per wear," she says.
"So if a coat cost £500 but you wore it for 500 days, it's £1 per wear. I wish she'd never told me that because that's what I would do.
"I'd go shopping almost every day. It could be anything from a new mascara to a handbag costing several hundred pounds. My attitude was, 'Why shouldn't I have it?'"
Her despairing boyfriend of 15 years, Kevin Burns, 41, had already paid off two of her credit cards, amounting to several thousand pounds, and cut the plastic up.
"He told me if I did it again he'd leave me, but I still didn't stop," she says. "I just got replacement cards.
"If I was caught wearing something new I'd insist I'd had it for ages. I wasn't very good at lying, though. I once bought a North Face jacket to wear for walking our dog Hobbs, which was £200 - I told Kevin it was £190. What's the point in lying about £10?
"And I'd tell my friends I couldn't go out for dinner because I didn't have the money, but then I'd fork out for an extortionate pair of shoes. It was little lies like that."
When she decided to clear her debts, Alexis knew she had to be strict with herself.
She says: "I'd tried to give up smoking for three years. Every Monday I'd say, 'That's it, I won't smoke any more.'
Sometimes I'd last till Wednesday, and sometimes I would only last an hour. If I'd been that bad at stopping smoking, I knew I had to face this head on.
"The rules were: no shopping at all and no new clothes, unless it was an emergency... I was only allowed to spend money on food, transport, bills and the occasional coffee or meal out with friends."
She only took a fiver to work every day to pay for her transport and lunch. At the start, she was so fearful she would overspend she asked the bank for £200 all in £5 notes.
Alexis also kept a diary, charting her efforts and the rollercoaster of emotions that came with battling her addiction. It is now being published as In The Red: The Diary Of A Recovering Shopaholic.
In it, she talks about stroking the covers of clothes catalogues before dumping them, and throwing a tantrum in a mall when she tested her willpower.
"Kevin has had to physically remove me from a shopping centre because I was having a tantrum - I'm not joking," she says.
"Everything was difficult. From going shopping or browsing the internet every day to not buying anything at all, that was very hard. There were some moments when I thought, 'This is horrendous,' and others when it was easy.
"I've had highs and lows. Before, when I was having a bad day I'd go shopping to cheer myself up. During the experiment, there was nothing I could do about it."
An indulged only child, she reckons her spending habits were formed at an early age.
"We'd go to the newsagents every day and I would stand there crying because I wanted something," she says. "I was probably spoiled but my parents always told me that things didn't come out of thin air and they had to work to pay for them."
Her experiment didn't stop her going into shops completely. She says: "To a point, I avoided going near shops but there was always that little devil in me that would tempt me in to test my willpower."
Along the way Alexis has learned some valuable lessons. As she says in her book: "I've realised there is no reason to own every possible scent of shower gel or six types of shampoo. Life is too short to spend 10 minutes deliberating over that day's choice of deodorant."
Wise words, indeed.
Sail through the sales..
Here, Alexis gives her tips on how not to splurge at the January sales...
Ask yourself, "Do I really need this?"
Don't get caught up in the whole rush of adrenalin and end up buying something just because it's the last one in your size. Think whether you actually like it first.
If you've gone off an item by the time you get home, don't do what I do and leave it in the wardrobe with the label on - take it back to the shop.
Does it really go with everything you think it's going to go with? Or are you just trying to convince yourself it's a good buy?
Are you just buying it because it's cheap? Face it, just because that boob tube is £5, it doesn't mean you'll ever wear it.
Would you have paid full price for it? If not, don't buy it.
DIARY OFF HIGHS & LOWS
Day 14: Sunday, May 28
I log on and there's an invite to an LK Bennett fashion evening. I adore their impractical kitten heels in the palest pastel shade, so soft you'd swear they were made from real kittens.
It's like being tortured and tested all at once. I delete it immediately and rush to the kitchen to find solace in a jar of Nutella.
Day 20: Saturday, June 3
I've spent 48 hours sulking and making Kevin's life a misery - obviously it's his fault I'm in this situation.
A trip to the shopping centre doesn't exactly send my spirits soaring. It's huge, soulless and full of things I can't buy. Never have I wanted to shop more!
Day 138: Friday, Sept 29
Today I opened the door to Jo Malone, Johnnie Boden, Charles Tyrwhitt, Bombay Duck, Mulberry, Toast and The White Company - all crammed on a doormat, all begging me to run away with them on a shopping spree.
When did they decide to gang up on me en masse?!
Day 221: Friday, Dec 22
I'm struggling - really struggling. I'm in town after work and the sights, sounds and smells are enough to make me call off the experiment and run naked through the streets wearing nothing but a strategically placed credit card.
Day 257: Saturday, Jan 27
Kevin suggested I go on a TV show for people who need help to stop spending. I know he's trying to be supportive but I was hoping he'd noticed I'd stopped spending eight months ago!
Day 309: Tuesday, March 20
My bank statement arrives with a mysterious credit of £37. It's like a small lottery win for someone in my financial state. That's 12 lunches, one Chanel moisturiser, a haircut or one tenth of a pair of Jimmy Choos.
In The Red by Alexis Hall (Icon Books, £10.99) is out on Thursday at all good bookshops. For a copy at the special price of £8.99, including free P&P in UK, call 01206 255800 quoting "In The Red Mirror offer".
From:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/01/07/confessions-of-a-shopaholic-89520-20277287/
I racked up £32,000 on four credit cards.. ..the only cure was to go cold turkey for a year
By Kate Jackson 7/01/2008
Related Articles
Get rid of your Christmas debt hangover
More Top Stories
Have your say on What are you talking about? in our Forums
News pictures
Related Tags
alexis hall, shopping
(What's this?)
With the January sales in full swing, imagine how hard it must be for a hopeless shopaholic to resist the lure of those massive discounts.
But clothes-mad Alexis Hall now knows how to resist temptation. She has not frittered away any money for a whole year, after deciding that 12 months of cold turkey was the only way to clear her debts.
For the 39-year-old from Glasgow, shopping was an all-consuming addiction. Whether it was another pair of Gina shoes, the season's must have skirt or a trendy designer bag, she just had to have it - no matter what it cost.
But when she realised her habit had landed her with a total debt of £31,637.84, she knew something drastic had to be done. So on May 15, 2006, she quit shopping.
"Until I sat down with all the bills and added them up, I had no idea I owed as much as I did," says Alexis, a media relations officer for Strathclyde police. "It was quite a shock to see it was nearly £32,000 - more than my yearly salary."
Alexis had perfected the knack for justifying her daily splurging.
"Years ago, a friend of mine told me that you shouldn't look at the price, but work out how much it would cost per wear," she says.
"So if a coat cost £500 but you wore it for 500 days, it's £1 per wear. I wish she'd never told me that because that's what I would do.
"I'd go shopping almost every day. It could be anything from a new mascara to a handbag costing several hundred pounds. My attitude was, 'Why shouldn't I have it?'"
Her despairing boyfriend of 15 years, Kevin Burns, 41, had already paid off two of her credit cards, amounting to several thousand pounds, and cut the plastic up.
"He told me if I did it again he'd leave me, but I still didn't stop," she says. "I just got replacement cards.
"If I was caught wearing something new I'd insist I'd had it for ages. I wasn't very good at lying, though. I once bought a North Face jacket to wear for walking our dog Hobbs, which was £200 - I told Kevin it was £190. What's the point in lying about £10?
"And I'd tell my friends I couldn't go out for dinner because I didn't have the money, but then I'd fork out for an extortionate pair of shoes. It was little lies like that."
When she decided to clear her debts, Alexis knew she had to be strict with herself.
She says: "I'd tried to give up smoking for three years. Every Monday I'd say, 'That's it, I won't smoke any more.'
Sometimes I'd last till Wednesday, and sometimes I would only last an hour. If I'd been that bad at stopping smoking, I knew I had to face this head on.
"The rules were: no shopping at all and no new clothes, unless it was an emergency... I was only allowed to spend money on food, transport, bills and the occasional coffee or meal out with friends."
She only took a fiver to work every day to pay for her transport and lunch. At the start, she was so fearful she would overspend she asked the bank for £200 all in £5 notes.
Alexis also kept a diary, charting her efforts and the rollercoaster of emotions that came with battling her addiction. It is now being published as In The Red: The Diary Of A Recovering Shopaholic.
In it, she talks about stroking the covers of clothes catalogues before dumping them, and throwing a tantrum in a mall when she tested her willpower.
"Kevin has had to physically remove me from a shopping centre because I was having a tantrum - I'm not joking," she says.
"Everything was difficult. From going shopping or browsing the internet every day to not buying anything at all, that was very hard. There were some moments when I thought, 'This is horrendous,' and others when it was easy.
"I've had highs and lows. Before, when I was having a bad day I'd go shopping to cheer myself up. During the experiment, there was nothing I could do about it."
An indulged only child, she reckons her spending habits were formed at an early age.
"We'd go to the newsagents every day and I would stand there crying because I wanted something," she says. "I was probably spoiled but my parents always told me that things didn't come out of thin air and they had to work to pay for them."
Her experiment didn't stop her going into shops completely. She says: "To a point, I avoided going near shops but there was always that little devil in me that would tempt me in to test my willpower."
Along the way Alexis has learned some valuable lessons. As she says in her book: "I've realised there is no reason to own every possible scent of shower gel or six types of shampoo. Life is too short to spend 10 minutes deliberating over that day's choice of deodorant."
Wise words, indeed.
Sail through the sales..
Here, Alexis gives her tips on how not to splurge at the January sales...
Ask yourself, "Do I really need this?"
Don't get caught up in the whole rush of adrenalin and end up buying something just because it's the last one in your size. Think whether you actually like it first.
If you've gone off an item by the time you get home, don't do what I do and leave it in the wardrobe with the label on - take it back to the shop.
Does it really go with everything you think it's going to go with? Or are you just trying to convince yourself it's a good buy?
Are you just buying it because it's cheap? Face it, just because that boob tube is £5, it doesn't mean you'll ever wear it.
Would you have paid full price for it? If not, don't buy it.
DIARY OFF HIGHS & LOWS
Day 14: Sunday, May 28
I log on and there's an invite to an LK Bennett fashion evening. I adore their impractical kitten heels in the palest pastel shade, so soft you'd swear they were made from real kittens.
It's like being tortured and tested all at once. I delete it immediately and rush to the kitchen to find solace in a jar of Nutella.
Day 20: Saturday, June 3
I've spent 48 hours sulking and making Kevin's life a misery - obviously it's his fault I'm in this situation.
A trip to the shopping centre doesn't exactly send my spirits soaring. It's huge, soulless and full of things I can't buy. Never have I wanted to shop more!
Day 138: Friday, Sept 29
Today I opened the door to Jo Malone, Johnnie Boden, Charles Tyrwhitt, Bombay Duck, Mulberry, Toast and The White Company - all crammed on a doormat, all begging me to run away with them on a shopping spree.
When did they decide to gang up on me en masse?!
Day 221: Friday, Dec 22
I'm struggling - really struggling. I'm in town after work and the sights, sounds and smells are enough to make me call off the experiment and run naked through the streets wearing nothing but a strategically placed credit card.
Day 257: Saturday, Jan 27
Kevin suggested I go on a TV show for people who need help to stop spending. I know he's trying to be supportive but I was hoping he'd noticed I'd stopped spending eight months ago!
Day 309: Tuesday, March 20
My bank statement arrives with a mysterious credit of £37. It's like a small lottery win for someone in my financial state. That's 12 lunches, one Chanel moisturiser, a haircut or one tenth of a pair of Jimmy Choos.
In The Red by Alexis Hall (Icon Books, £10.99) is out on Thursday at all good bookshops. For a copy at the special price of £8.99, including free P&P in UK, call 01206 255800 quoting "In The Red Mirror offer".
From:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/01/07/confessions-of-a-shopaholic-89520-20277287/
How to stop living like a shopaholic
How to stop living like a shopaholic
By ALEXIS HALL
Last updated at 09:23 24 January 2008
-1. Comments (4) Add to My Stories
If you can't get through your lunch hour without buying something (anything!) ... if your wardrobe is full of unworn clothes, some with the price tags attached ... if you own ten pairs of identical black trousers ... YOU could be a shopaholic.
Here, Alexis Hall - who reduced the £31,637.84 she owed in credit card debts and loans by buying only necessities - tells you how to take control of your spending while still looking great.
DETOX YOUR WARDROBE
Empty your wardrobe, drawers and upend your ironing basket to take a good look at your clothes and accessories.
Sort everything into four piles: clothes that need to go in the bin; those that can be sold; items for the charity shop; and outfits you want to keep.
It's a good idea to enlist the help of a brutally honest friend, as most shopaholics tend to be hoarders. She should take away the "bin" and "charity" items, so you aren't tempted to sneak any of those items back into your wardrobe.
When you see what is left, you'll realise you don't have to go clothes shopping for a long time.
Scroll down for more ...
RESTORE ORDER
Split your clothes into autumn/winter and spring/summer. Put away the season you don't need in a box that slides under the bed (ensure they are clean and add moth repellent sachets).
Hang up or fold this season's clothes so you can see exactly what you have.
Once I started wearing my rediscovered, unworn old clothes, it was surprising just how many compliments I got for quite lovely things that had been screwed up in a ball at the back of a drawer for years.
SELL, SELL, SELL
Hold a clothes sale at home for friends and neighbours, sell them to a dress agency (look in Yellow Pages for your nearest one) or photograph each item and advertise on an internet auction site such as eBay.
Bigwardrobe.com is a free-to-join website where members can swap clothes or sell them for cash. Use any money you make to pay off your debts.
MAKE DO AND MEND
Getting clothes and accessories altered or repaired can save a fortune.
Julia Dee, founder of tailoring and alterations service Designer Alterations (www.designeralterations.com) has clients including Elle Macpherson, Kelly Hoppen and David Furnish.
From darning a cashmere jumper to tailoring an unworn pair of trousers into fashionable shorts and putting new buttons on a tired-looking coat, it can be relatively cheap to give old favourites a new lease of life.
In the past, I'd have bought a new pair of shoes when the old ones started to look worn.
Instead, for less than £10 I found I could get my footwear repaired and buffed into a state of near newness instead of adding a couple of hundred quid to a credit card. Many cobblers are also able to repair leather handbags.
DON'T SCRIMP ON HAIR
I found a good haircut was worth the expense, even when I was sticking to a strict budget. Many stylists will trim your fringe for free between cuts.
DOS & DON'TS OF ONLINE SHOPPING
Online supermarket shopping is a good idea for the recovering shopaholic, as you tend to buy only what you need.
You don't end up with those magazines, candles, bottles of champagne or an on-sale flatscreen TV that can tempt you when you browse the aisles. But online shopping for fashion, beauty products, homeware or gifts can be a bad idea, as it's all too easy not to see it as 'real' spending.
You can also get caught out by expensive postage and packing.
Beware of the "it-doesn't-fit-but-I-can't-be-bothered-to-post-it-back-for-a-refund" laziness.
If your e-mail inbox is bombarded with special offers from online stores, unsubscribe immediately to avoid temptation.
And if you're bored and feel like a quick online shopping browse, go to the gym, take the dog out for a walk or phone a friend instead.
SCORE POINTS
Shopaholics almost never read their credit card bills and till receipts. If you're on a budget for the first time, you may notice you have racked up useful loyalty points. These can be spent on the things you want, but can't afford.
Make sure you take full advantage of Nectar and Boots cards when you shop for your weekly necessities so you can save money or buy yourself an occasional treat.
DON'T GO TO THE SALES
Come on, be honest - have you ever bought something really lovely and useful in a sale?
There's something about sales that makes us lose all our common sense. You may not be able to tell if it's a boob tube or a skirt, but, hey, it's only £5, so you'll end up buying it anyway.
But you'll never wear it and it'll just end up at the back of the wardrobe still in the bag, so you might as well have set light to a £5 note.
Just because something is cheap or greatly reduced doesn't mean it's a bargain.
BUDGET ON BEAUTY
As someone who used to buy every new fragrance going - and the matching shower gel and deodorant - I was amazed when the first time my boyfriend told me I smelled lovely I was using nothing but Nivea.
If you have sensitive skin and can use only certain expensive brands, budget for that item.
Otherwise, cheaper, non-designer nail varnishes, body lotions, cleansers, shampoos and conditioners do the job just as well.
SAVOUR THE WAIT
Cutting back on your spending to get yourself out of debt doesn't mean you can't enjoy luxuries.
Instead of buying a handbag and shoes or going on a spa visit, keep a list of the things you'd love and give it to people when they ask what you want for your birthday or Christmas.
Once I started living on a minimal budget, I had to wait almost six months until my birthday. Opening my presents after buying nothing but necessities for all that time, I felt like a child again.
Lovely things are so much more exciting and better appreciated when you've waited for them - and there's no credit card bill.
GETTING OUT OF DEBT
• FACE THE FACTS: Stop just looking at the minimum payment on your bills. Take a deep breath and open all your credit, store card and loan bills - then add up the total.
"Prepare a plan of action, such as cutting up your cards or taking some steps, however small, towards settling your debts," says Benjamin Fry, self-help author and presenter on BBC 3's Spendaholics. "It will help you feel a bit more in control of the situation."
• GO COLD TURKEY: If you've got yourself into serious debt, stop spending - now. Be firm. After you've cut up your credit and store cards, don't keep one in a !"safe" place for "emergencies" - it'll be too tempting to get it out again.
• LIVE ON A STRICT DAILY CASH BUDGET: At one stage, I took just £5 to work with me every day. That was just enough to get me to the office and buy lunch.
It stopped me making needless, spontaneous purchases and made me realise that within an hour of thinking I really wanted the latest must-have hair product, for example, I'd changed my mind or even forgotten about it.
• MANAGE YOUR DEBTS: First, pay off the debts with the highest interest rates and switch others to a lower rate of interest.The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (cccs.co.uk) can help.
• THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM: Like most addictions, there's usually an emotional trigger behind shopaholism. You need to uncover what this might be and address it.
• Adapted from In The Red by Alexis Hall (Icon Books, £10.99). Copyright Alexis Hall 2008. To order a copy (P&P free), call 0845 606 4206.
From:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-510070/How-stop-living-like-shopaholic.html
By ALEXIS HALL
Last updated at 09:23 24 January 2008
-1. Comments (4) Add to My Stories
If you can't get through your lunch hour without buying something (anything!) ... if your wardrobe is full of unworn clothes, some with the price tags attached ... if you own ten pairs of identical black trousers ... YOU could be a shopaholic.
Here, Alexis Hall - who reduced the £31,637.84 she owed in credit card debts and loans by buying only necessities - tells you how to take control of your spending while still looking great.
DETOX YOUR WARDROBE
Empty your wardrobe, drawers and upend your ironing basket to take a good look at your clothes and accessories.
Sort everything into four piles: clothes that need to go in the bin; those that can be sold; items for the charity shop; and outfits you want to keep.
It's a good idea to enlist the help of a brutally honest friend, as most shopaholics tend to be hoarders. She should take away the "bin" and "charity" items, so you aren't tempted to sneak any of those items back into your wardrobe.
When you see what is left, you'll realise you don't have to go clothes shopping for a long time.
Scroll down for more ...
RESTORE ORDER
Split your clothes into autumn/winter and spring/summer. Put away the season you don't need in a box that slides under the bed (ensure they are clean and add moth repellent sachets).
Hang up or fold this season's clothes so you can see exactly what you have.
Once I started wearing my rediscovered, unworn old clothes, it was surprising just how many compliments I got for quite lovely things that had been screwed up in a ball at the back of a drawer for years.
SELL, SELL, SELL
Hold a clothes sale at home for friends and neighbours, sell them to a dress agency (look in Yellow Pages for your nearest one) or photograph each item and advertise on an internet auction site such as eBay.
Bigwardrobe.com is a free-to-join website where members can swap clothes or sell them for cash. Use any money you make to pay off your debts.
MAKE DO AND MEND
Getting clothes and accessories altered or repaired can save a fortune.
Julia Dee, founder of tailoring and alterations service Designer Alterations (www.designeralterations.com) has clients including Elle Macpherson, Kelly Hoppen and David Furnish.
From darning a cashmere jumper to tailoring an unworn pair of trousers into fashionable shorts and putting new buttons on a tired-looking coat, it can be relatively cheap to give old favourites a new lease of life.
In the past, I'd have bought a new pair of shoes when the old ones started to look worn.
Instead, for less than £10 I found I could get my footwear repaired and buffed into a state of near newness instead of adding a couple of hundred quid to a credit card. Many cobblers are also able to repair leather handbags.
DON'T SCRIMP ON HAIR
I found a good haircut was worth the expense, even when I was sticking to a strict budget. Many stylists will trim your fringe for free between cuts.
DOS & DON'TS OF ONLINE SHOPPING
Online supermarket shopping is a good idea for the recovering shopaholic, as you tend to buy only what you need.
You don't end up with those magazines, candles, bottles of champagne or an on-sale flatscreen TV that can tempt you when you browse the aisles. But online shopping for fashion, beauty products, homeware or gifts can be a bad idea, as it's all too easy not to see it as 'real' spending.
You can also get caught out by expensive postage and packing.
Beware of the "it-doesn't-fit-but-I-can't-be-bothered-to-post-it-back-for-a-refund" laziness.
If your e-mail inbox is bombarded with special offers from online stores, unsubscribe immediately to avoid temptation.
And if you're bored and feel like a quick online shopping browse, go to the gym, take the dog out for a walk or phone a friend instead.
SCORE POINTS
Shopaholics almost never read their credit card bills and till receipts. If you're on a budget for the first time, you may notice you have racked up useful loyalty points. These can be spent on the things you want, but can't afford.
Make sure you take full advantage of Nectar and Boots cards when you shop for your weekly necessities so you can save money or buy yourself an occasional treat.
DON'T GO TO THE SALES
Come on, be honest - have you ever bought something really lovely and useful in a sale?
There's something about sales that makes us lose all our common sense. You may not be able to tell if it's a boob tube or a skirt, but, hey, it's only £5, so you'll end up buying it anyway.
But you'll never wear it and it'll just end up at the back of the wardrobe still in the bag, so you might as well have set light to a £5 note.
Just because something is cheap or greatly reduced doesn't mean it's a bargain.
BUDGET ON BEAUTY
As someone who used to buy every new fragrance going - and the matching shower gel and deodorant - I was amazed when the first time my boyfriend told me I smelled lovely I was using nothing but Nivea.
If you have sensitive skin and can use only certain expensive brands, budget for that item.
Otherwise, cheaper, non-designer nail varnishes, body lotions, cleansers, shampoos and conditioners do the job just as well.
SAVOUR THE WAIT
Cutting back on your spending to get yourself out of debt doesn't mean you can't enjoy luxuries.
Instead of buying a handbag and shoes or going on a spa visit, keep a list of the things you'd love and give it to people when they ask what you want for your birthday or Christmas.
Once I started living on a minimal budget, I had to wait almost six months until my birthday. Opening my presents after buying nothing but necessities for all that time, I felt like a child again.
Lovely things are so much more exciting and better appreciated when you've waited for them - and there's no credit card bill.
GETTING OUT OF DEBT
• FACE THE FACTS: Stop just looking at the minimum payment on your bills. Take a deep breath and open all your credit, store card and loan bills - then add up the total.
"Prepare a plan of action, such as cutting up your cards or taking some steps, however small, towards settling your debts," says Benjamin Fry, self-help author and presenter on BBC 3's Spendaholics. "It will help you feel a bit more in control of the situation."
• GO COLD TURKEY: If you've got yourself into serious debt, stop spending - now. Be firm. After you've cut up your credit and store cards, don't keep one in a !"safe" place for "emergencies" - it'll be too tempting to get it out again.
• LIVE ON A STRICT DAILY CASH BUDGET: At one stage, I took just £5 to work with me every day. That was just enough to get me to the office and buy lunch.
It stopped me making needless, spontaneous purchases and made me realise that within an hour of thinking I really wanted the latest must-have hair product, for example, I'd changed my mind or even forgotten about it.
• MANAGE YOUR DEBTS: First, pay off the debts with the highest interest rates and switch others to a lower rate of interest.The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (cccs.co.uk) can help.
• THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM: Like most addictions, there's usually an emotional trigger behind shopaholism. You need to uncover what this might be and address it.
• Adapted from In The Red by Alexis Hall (Icon Books, £10.99). Copyright Alexis Hall 2008. To order a copy (P&P free), call 0845 606 4206.
From:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-510070/How-stop-living-like-shopaholic.html
Design council
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/Design-Disciplines/Experience-design/
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