How I did it: I changed my habits slowly. I was clearly shopping for emotional reasons, not because I needed things. I took a realistic look at the impact shopping was having on my finances and how little I was using the things I bought.

Finally, I came up with a strong positive goal to motivate me to shop less. Thinking about the negative impact could make me feel depressed, which would make me want to shop.

Now I don't shop impulsively like I used to and it feels a lot more healthy. There is also more free time to do other things.

Lessons & tips: You need a strong motivating goal. I couldn't do this until I decided I wanted to visit my friend in California. Then it was easier because I could say "trip or t-shirt?". The trip always won.

But also give yourself something to spend even if it's only $5-10 a week. That way you can get a shopping "fix" without spending too much. Shopping is fun after all, and the amount doesn't really matter as much as I thought it would. When I wanted something more expensive I tried to save up my weekly amounts until I had enough.

Put the spending money in an envelope and write down your purchases to keep yourself honest.

Resources: Create a budget. I used Quicken, but any finance software would do it. Basically you figure out what you spend your money on in a typical year, then break it down to monthly amounts. It is much easier than I thought and you can see the impact of your spending. $10 a week easily adds up to $500 in a year.  For me, that is a plane trip somewhere warm and I would rather have that than a pile of clothes I never wear. And it makes it really easy to see that a $200 spending binge every once in a while really has an impact. There are better ways to spend your money.

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Feb 11, 2010, 05:31AM PST | 2 comments | 6 cheers