Are You A Compulsive Spender?

ARE YOU A COMPULSIVE SPENDER? Get the facts and find out how to address your problem impulses Bank A NATION OF SPENDERS Estimated number of Americans who exhibit 18 million compulsive shopping habits ...or nearly 6% of the population Amount of revolving $864.6 billion consumer debt outstanding in the U.S. ...or roughly $2,700 for every man, woman, and child in the nation HAS YOUR SPENDING GOTTEN OUT OF CONTROL? Do you often... > feel preoccupied with buying? > go on buying binges? > hide purchases from family or friends? > use shopping to deal with stress? > shop longer than you mean to? > feel guilt or remorse about shopping? > encounter excess debt, family conflict, or illegal activities because of your shopping? If you answered "yes" to several of these questions, then you may have an issue with compulsive spending. EQUALLY ADDICTED Women are stereotyped as compulsive spenders, but both genders have about the same percentage of compulsive spenders. WOMEN MEN 6% 5.5% IT HURTS MORE THAN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT Compulsive spending can negatively impact many areas of life. YOUR HOME YOUR FAMILY April Lane Benson, psychologist and founder of the site Shopaholicnomore.com, has estimated that between one-third 68% of compulsive buyers report that their buying has negatively affected their relationships. and one-half of compulsive spenders eventually turn into hoarders. 1/3 68% 1/2 10 MOST SHOPAHOLIC CITIES IN THE U.S. People in these cities spend the highest average amount per month on clothes and shoes: 8. o 10 3 1 05 90 1) Washington, D.C. – $263 2) Arlington, Virginia – $255 3) Nashville, Tennessee – $251 4) Scottsdale, Arizona – $243 5) Dallas, Texas – $229 6) San Francisco, California – $227 7) San Jose, California – $221 8) Seattle, Washington – $221 9) Austin, Texas – $213 10) Bakersfield, California – $202 to CELEBRITY SPENDING SPREES Spending large amounts doesn't necessarily amount to compulsive spending. But if your spending seems extravagant to you or your friends, it could be a red flag. O $2. Cost of a bathtub that Mike Tyson reportedly bought for his first wife, Robin Givens MILLION $1.8 Reported cost of supermodel Naomi Campbell's 36th birthday party, for which she rented 18 floors of Dubai's Burj Al Arab luxury hotel for three days MILLION $21,000 Weekly fee that Rihanna reportedly paid her personal hair- stylist, Ursula Stephen, in 2011 $1.6 Amount Victoria Beckham report- edly spent in a single afternoon shopping trip in Milan in 2010 MILLION TREATMENTS FOR COMPULSIVE SPENDING Do you suspect that you or a loved one may be a compulsive spender? Consult a financial counselor or your doctor to find out which of these options may be best: > Financial counseling > Bibliotherapy (self-help books) > Marital therapy > Support groups (Debtors Anonymous) > Psychotropic medications, such as antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and opioid antagonists %24 M MoneyRates Make the most of your money Created for Moneyrates.com e QuinStreet, Inc., 2012 Sources Estimated Prevalence of Compulsive Buying Behavior in the United States, American Joumal of Psychiatry, 2006, ajp psychiatryonline.org/article.aspo?articleid=97146 Compulsive shopping: When shopping is like substance abuse. CNIN.com, 2012, conn.com/201/12/19/healthvimental-health/shopping-addiction-compulsilve-buying/ndexhtmi A review of compulsive buying disorder, Worid Psychiatry, 2007, nebirim nih gowamc/articdes/PMC1805733/tool-pubmed Top 10 Shopaholic Cities in the U.s, Bundle.com, 2011, bundle.com/article/top-10-shapaholic cities-us/slide/1/ U.S. population dock, US. Census Bureau 2012, census.gow/population/www/papciockushtmi U.S. consumer credit figures, U.S. Federal Reserve, June 2012, federalreserve gov/releases/g19/Current/ The Punch Line? A Knockout Debt, Washington Post, 2004, washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10290-2004Jul23_S.html Vives/trends/big-spending-celebs-85964 Celebrity Million Dallar Extravagances, cnbc.com, 201, cnbc.com/id/4453713/Celebrity_Milion Online Merchants Home in on imbibing Consumers, The New York Times, 2011 nytimes com/2011/12/28/business/online-ratailers-home-in an- a-new-demographic-the-drunken-consumer.html Professional Help: Coaching/Therapy. Shopaholicnomore.com, shooaholicnomore.com/professional-help/ Are You and Overshopper, shopaholicnomore.com/who-needs-help/ Compulsive shopping: When spending is lika substance abuse, onncom/2011/12/19/health/mental-health/shopping-addiction-compulsive buying/index htmi