[ad_1]
The cost of living crisis hasn’t been able to hit Black Friday hard.
Americans have spent a record $9.12 billion looking for bargains online, according to Adobe Analytics’ latest estimates.Here in the UK, Barclaycard has recorded over 1,200 of his transactions every second It was the peak of the retail craze and the largest volume ever processed.
Adjusted for inflation, I think the final total will be less than the previous year. But it’s clear that many people are doubling down on discounts and special offers in the run-up to the annual splurge known as Christmas.
This week we got a taste of how the lure of bargain hunting can turn into a serious financial problem: a shopping addiction.
On this week’s Money Clinic podcast, I spoke with Brooke, a millennial from North Carolina.
“For me, it’s comparable to drug addiction. When will I get my next fix of going to the store and buying something and getting a hit of dopamine,” she told me.
For Brooke, shopping has become an intoxicating retreat from the stress and loneliness of modern life. Even when she drives to the mall to buy things she knows she doesn’t need, she can feel the worries of the outside world melt away. The desire to do good deals (“I wear it like a badge of honor”).
But by the time Brooke gets back to her car with a bag of heavily discounted merchandise, the magic has broken. Her shopping did not make her any happier. In fact, she has over $6,000 in credit on her card debt.
A few months later, she pays off her debts and gives custody of the cards to her partner. But inevitably, her urge to consume returns, and the cards soon reach their limits again.
Many readers may scoff at this issue. Some therapists Brooke saw in the past didn’t take it seriously, believing that willpower and budget were the cure.
But this doesn’t take into account the deeper emotional buttons that are pressed when we indulge in a little “retail therapy.” Regardless, I think there are lessons here that everyone can relate to when millions of people are trying to spend and consume less.
First of all, it’s hard to buy less when everything around us says it’s okay to buy more.
Overconsumption is very normalized in our society. We are conditioned to hunt for deals and discount codes and expose ourselves to digital marketing attacks via social media platforms. First Black Friday, then Cyber Monday, and now early Christmas offers — retailers are hoping to have a good Christmas this year, even though spending more may be the last thing our finances need. I feel like I’m trying to overdrive to make sure I’m spending it.
Combine this with easy credit and the power to buy now, pay later — a sector not yet well regulated but worth $1 trillion (£866bn) globally by 2030 — and it’s easy to see how people can. Engaged in unnecessary spending.
In the US, Adobe recorded an 85% weekly increase in online shoppers using BNPL to spread their repayments during “Cyber Week” (the period that includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday).
Two therapists I questioned on the podcast live by these connections and highlighted how loneliness, low self-esteem, and poor mental health also contribute to the rise of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“Addiction is a way of managing emotions, a way of self-soothing that is itself a problem,” explains Pamela Roberts, a psychotherapist at Priory Hospital in Woking, Surrey. “Is this actually about shopping, or is there some emotional going on that you’re not processing?”
She agrees that many people do not consider shopping to be a “real addiction.”
However, the sense of secrecy and shame surrounding this can make it very difficult for people to seek help when they are having trouble. is also a problem for men, she says.
Amanda Kleiman, a Los Angeles-based financial therapist, told me that compulsive behavior is “like when someone clicks on a program in our brain and it runs.” rice field. In her work with addicts, she uses her CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy) to help people “find the off-ramp” before joining the retail superhighway.
As stress levels rise and the urge to shop increases, she encourages her patients to “surf the urge.”
“Pause for five minutes and see how it feels. Practice allowing that feeling, especially how it peaks and starts to fade. It’s a moment that lasts forever.” not.”
Roberts encourages those who think they have a problem to question what drives their shopping addiction on a deeper emotional level. “How can I change my money script? I’m thinking of shopping there. Is there another way? Can I call someone?” The Fellowship has noted the rise of her program.
Undoubtedly, this is a serious psychological issue for some people, but the rising cost of living means that the traditional Christmas shopping ‘script’ also urgently needs to be rebooted.
You may be spending less or trying to do something different this year. Even if your own finances have weathered the storm, chances are friends and family are already concerned about your ability to reciprocate your generosity.
So take the pressure off by keeping the conversation open and making reciprocal agreements to avoid extravagant gifts.
Check out our Christmas Gift Checks on the Money Saving Expert website for another way to show that you care. Print the free PDF (or create your own design if you’re an artist) and pledge to do something that doesn’t cost much but is very valuable. This could be babysitting, helping with various tasks around the house, or other acts of kindness that you know will be appreciated.
In the same way that compulsive spending is not the cure for the loneliness and low self-esteem that shopaholics often experience, presents are no substitute for your existence.
Spending time together rather than spending money is something we will remember long after all the glitter and gift wrap has been removed.
Claer Barrett is the FT’s consumer editor and author of What They Don’t Teach You About Money. claer.barrett@ft.com; Twitter and Instagram: @Claireb
[ad_2]
Source link