Compulsive Shopping in Covid

One of the ways I sidestepped the reality of 2020 was to throw a lot of energy, time and money into a relaunch.

I’d stepped away from The Happy Wardrobe in 2019 due to my annual Seattle slump, which sent me in another direction for a while. But just before Covid became a thing, I’d made it to Arizona and sunshine kickstarted me back to my love of clothes and the women who wear them.

Relaunch! New website, looking into virtual assistants for accountability (knowing the slump would hit once the grey came back) new software, courses, coaches, and communities.

I'm really lucky that I had the ability to do it. Friends of mine lost jobs and businesses during the pandemic. I didn’t have to take out a loan or get financial assistance and I discovered overseas VA’s, which made having help possible. (Talk to Riah Gonzalez if you’re interested).

But while I stepped back into being a solopreneur, I stepped away from the money program I belong to. Basically, it’s a peer support group where we tackle unhelpful money behavior, including compulsive shopping.  

Which meant I went vague.

Vague for me is kind of like being drunk. Things get fuzzy and I make questionable choices.

Which meant at the end of the year when it came time to add up expenses etc. I got quite a shock.

Which freaked me out.

After some self-flagellation and despite reassurance by my nearest and dearest that it wasn’t actually that bad, I headed straight back to my money group. I hadn’t racked up debt, thankfully. There were no repercussions…except to my peace of mind.

It wasn’t about the money. (though it did keep me up at night for a while). It was the lack of awareness that scared me. If you’ve ever dreaded opening a credit card bill or crossed your fingers there is enough money in your account, you’ll get me. It’s been years since that was an issue for me, but I remember how it felt.

Ditto if you have clothes in your closet with tags still on them, buy multiple pairs of shoes when you’re upset, can’t resist a sale, buy things on impulse you don’t need and spend money on clothing instead of your dreams and goals. It can manifest in hoarding, constantly buying things and returning them, or buying things for others so you feel less guilty about spending. If your spending is linked to your emotions (or stress), welcome to the human race. The thing is, is it causing you problems?

Covid did make it harder to get to the shops. But not the internet. It's so easy to click, click, click to buy something in seconds these days. And if you live in Seattle, like me, Amazon Prime will deliver in about five minutes. 

Once I reconnected with myself, I remembered I’m great at coaching clients on aligning their wardrobe spending with their values, goals, priorities. I’ve helped them shop everywhere from Nordstrom to Goodwill.

I’d just forgotten to apply what I knew to my business plan.

And very luckily for me, I knew where to go and what to do. I’m back on track and I have $$$ clarity again.

I’m thinking of a way I can add a compulsive shopping component to what I offer, if you have any ideas.

If you want to know about the money program, reach out. There’s no fees, I’m not an affiliate or what- have-you. It’s confidential. You could even say it’s Anonymous….

Aroha, Erin