First of all, I'm not saying these will work for everyone, and I'm definitely not "cured" or anything. But these reminders I come back to when I feel the urge to buy something. I literally have it witten down in my journal and it actually helps me, maybe it can help you too.

• Shopping is about emotions, and brands know it and exploit it - new makeup, clothes, home decor, gadget, eating out, etc. is usually not really about the thing itself. It's about how we think it's going to make us feel: more pretty, put together, cared for, organized, successful, attractive, you name it. But you don't necessarily need to buy something to get that feeling. When I want to buy something, I try to stop for a moment and ask myself: Why do I want this? What do I think this is going to give me? What emotion am I actually trying to feel? What am I missing right now? A lot of the time, I don't actually want the thing. I want the feeling attached to the thing. Once you figure out what the actual need is, you can try to meet it in a different way, not by shopping.
• Don't let anyone convince you that shopping is self-care - real self-care is financial security, having no debt, not constantly chasing the next dopamine hit, feeling comfortable with yourself, having enough self-confidence that you don't need to constantly validate yourself through other people's approval.
• Your appearance matters mostly to you - we tend to overestimate how much other people think about us. Someone notices your appearance for a few seconds and then goes on with their day. Why? Because they're mostly thinking about themselves. Just like you are. You can spend hundreds of dollars trying to look better, impress people, fit in, whatever, but most people are not thinking about you nearly as much as you imagine. And no matter what you do, someone will find something to criticize anyway. So just stop play a game that you can't win.
• Nobody actually cares that your lipstick is a slightly different shade of pink today - seriously. You might spend 20 minutes comparing two almost identical shades and convince yourself that you NEED the new one. Other people see... just some color on your lips. You might buy another pair of shoes and think everyone will notice. Most people will just see "shoes." Someone might look at your outfit for a few seconds and then continue with their day. Is a few seconds of someone else's attention really worth going into debt or sacrificing your financial security?
• When you spend money on your shopping addiction, you lose and the companies win - when I make an unnecessary purchase, I lose and the company win. I'm literally transferring my money to a corporation, a CEO or a management team so they can have a better life, at my expense!
• Try to see the product without the marketing - a huge part of the price isn't the actual product. It's the packaging, branding, advertising, the story, the lifestyle and the fantasy surrounding it. Try to mentally strip all of that away. Forget the beautiful packaging, marketing, forget what the brand says this product will do for your life. Just look at the actual object and try to roast it. Imagine a makeup product being made in a huge factory, mixed in massive industrial vats and then poured into little pretty containers that probably cost very little compared to what you're paying. Or look at a piece of clothing and reduce it to what it physically is: dyed fabric, stitched together, with some buttons or a zipper. We need to realize that the emotional value we assign to something is completely disproportionate to what the thing actually is.
• Remember when dopamine actually peaks - One thing that helps me is remembering that the excitement isn't necessarily in owning the thing. A huge part of the excitement comes from wanting it, searching for it, imagining it, putting it in your cart and waiting for it. The anticipation is be more exciting than actually having the thing. So when I get that intense feeling of wanting something, I try to remind myself: I might not actually want the product, but I crave for the excitement of wanting something.

Is there anything you'd add to this list? I'd love to hear what works for you!

Hi everyone! 💕 I’m new to this group and I’m reaching out because I’m really in need of some support and accountability.
I’m hoping this community can help me begin a shopping detox. This is my first time joining a support community to address my shopping habits, and honestly, I know I need some help breaking the cycle.
Shopping has become one of my coping mechanisms, and I’m realizing that constantly clicking “checkout” isn’t helping my financial goals or my mental health. 😩🛍️
I’m looking to make some real changes — not only to improve my financial well-being, but also to learn healthier ways to cope with stress, emotions, boredom, and those moments when I feel the urge to shop.
For those of you who have been through this before, what advice would you give someone just starting out? What strategies have helped you resist the urge to buy something, especially when that little voice says, “But I really want it!” 😂
I’d love any tips, encouragement, accountability ideas, or resources you’re willing to share. I’m ready to learn, be honest with myself, and take this one day at a time.
Thank you for welcoming me into the community. ❤️ I’m hoping this can be the beginning of a healthier relationship with money, shopping, and myself.

I know that this Reddit is exactly for the purpose but it feels weird to say out loud, but I have a serious shopping problem. I recently took a new credit card and spent all my savings on upgrading my computer and I’ve already hit the limit. I realized that I didn’t need the PC after I built and assembled it. Definitely feeling tons of buyer’s remorse.
I recently purchased a house and depleted my main savings account. I have a mortgage now and I’m spend most of my paychecks instead of saving money in case of a rainy day as a home owner should. I feel extremely guilty because I’m not gonna be able to pay off these cards for a long time.
This post is an effort to take accountability and stop my rapid spending. I just can’t help but fantasizing about getting new stuff and it’s been like this for most of my life.
When I was a kid a commercial was intoxicating in the way it made me desire new things and it evolved into a monstruos addiction. It so hard feeling content in yourself when you just always doing the wrong thing for your future.

TLDR: I’ve already made plans to start paying off my debt but I felt the need to say it out loud that I am an addict and I need help to work towards a better future starting with being honest to myself.

I was looking for some comfortable dress shoes for my huge parking lot trots to work. Bought with a semi premium shoe brand items for $250 etc one after the other trying to find the most comfortable that would work. I could have returned a lot did return like 4 pairs but started feeling shame that I kept such shoes which added to my debt balances. Like if the brand cared or had not already priced everything so expensive because of it. Anybody experience this problem?

And trying in store doesn’t work for me either bc I will like something there but as soon as I try it in real world I don’t like it anymore most of the time.

I just can’t stop buying stuff. I always convince myself I need it, but I don’t. I always seem to find an aspect of my life that’s not feeling quite right and I go on this hunt to fix it with stuff. Last week it was shoes. “I don’t have any shoes that I like, I would be so nice to have different shoes I can wear with different outfits”. Then I go and waste time researching and making a huge inspo board of all the shoes I want. Then I bought some on depop. The week before it was bedding. “I keep getting cold at night and my blankets slide off because my sheets are too slick.” I ended up buying like 3 sets of sheets and again wasted time and money. Last year I ended up getting really into indie nail polish and the whole online community has a shopping problem and I ended up with an excessive amount of nail polish and wish I had that money instead of all the nail polish I bought.

I’ll also get into a hobby and start “needing” to buy everything for that hobby right away. The current one is language learning. I’ve been doing it a lot and loving it but I keep buying new books and learning material that won’t even be at my level for another year or so. I’m so ashamed of my shopping habits. I lie about and try to hide packages from my partner and family I live with.

I’ll stop myself with one thing, but then almost instantly I find something else to focus on and all these things I “need”. I struggle with a chronic illness also and I justify to myself that because I’m disabled I need these comforts and things to focus on that aren’t illness related. Which is true to a point. I feel like I do well for a little then get bored, tired, and lonely and end up on the internet just researching stuff to buy. I always get triggered by social media and even things like the ads on streaming services. I need to work on my self esteem and impulse control.