Confessions of a Male Shopaholic Pt.2

My last blog post about my shopping addiction was written some three months ago now. I’m half way through my shopping ban imposed by my partner, and you know what, I am OK with it.

We all have our addictions in life, and shopping is a genuine addiction. The positive endorphins you get from buying something are a tangible thing, but we have all had that ‘buyers remorse’ afterwards. But so many of us would rather not admit defeat and stay strong sending something back, but just put it in the wardrobe for another day.

In my last blog I talked about the film featuring Isla Fisher and her addiction to shopping and the effect it had on her life. The ‘Green Scarf’ was her ultimate folly being the item which broke her debt wise but also the symbol that represented her addiction.

After my last blog, I promised to go through my wardrobe and limit the numbers of each item I have. True to my word I started this, and it was scary how many items of clothing and ‘stuff’ I really had. It was only through doing this that I started to realise how big the problem really was. How had I let it get this way?

So, I started putting all my unwanted items onto eBay, including some of my beloved Lego sets from the loft. 3 months later I have passed the £2,000 mark in sales. In the same time I have not bought one item of clothing (bar a fashionable face mask for Covid-19), and am I bothered? A little yes, but no pain no gain?

At the same time, this had made me look at my debt more proactively. I will write about debt in another post. But this whole exercise has prompted me to look at how to break the back of this. It has pushed me to get back into my art, having started building a body of work for the future launch of an online store. Passive income is all about making income without effort. I feel like I am on my way.

Ironically, my ‘green scarf’ was a Martin Asbjorn mesh t-shirt bought from the men’s collection at Bluebird. I think it cost £120 at the time. This is the first item I put on eBay, and it still remains unsold 3 months later. I think there is a message there...

If you need to talk about addiction and its effect, let’s talk.