Shop ‘til you drop.” “Shopaholic.” Those are just funny expressions, right? In some cases, they’re anything but.Compulsive shopping can range from an occasionally budget-busting diversion to a drop-dead serious addiction. At its most extreme levels, a compulsive-buying problem can lead people to hide or lie about their purchases, max out numerous credit cards, live on the edge financially and stockpile items that never get used and often still have the price tags attached.
Variations of this addiction affect people from every income level – including people who have no trouble paying all their bills. And while plenty of people out there haven’t reached such a severe state of affairs, they nevertheless find themselves grappling with sky-high levels of unsecured debt because of their spending habits.
“What is so challenging here is that a compulsive spender is like a compulsive gambler who is forced to spend 12 hours every day in a casino and not gamble,” said Daniel Wishnatsky, a certified financial planner in Phoenix.
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