My Shopaholic Confession

Hi, my name is Lizz and I'm a Shopaholic!

As a 25-year old graphic artist working from home, I have quite a bit of time on my hands for the important things in life. Things like shopping, going out with my girlfriends, and painting the town red (or at least a vaguely pinkish shade) with my boy.

Living in the Eastwood area means that Eastwood Mall, City Walk boutiques, Cybermall, the Eastwood bazaars, and a ton of other shopping temptations are merely a short walk away. No matter how much I tell myself to save, to set aside money for that rainy day, new styles and looks keep springing up every. Single. Day!

Even simply staying in the house and working means I'm connected 24/7 to the online world of shopping, and the pleasures of E-bay, Amazon, and the entire country with their stores on Multiply constantly call to me. A blouse on sale from E-bay, a cute skirt from a Multiply store-- all these little expenses begin to pile up after a while. Each time, I tell myself that it's the last purchase for the month, and that my Saving Mode will start tomorrow.

Of course, as soon as I step out for a coffee, I am inundated by the many, many sales Eastwood City constantly seems to have. And then I start thinking: surely this dress on sale would be even cheaper than the skirt I'd bought from Multiply, because the latter had required shipping! Clearly, if I didn't buy this dress *now*, I'd be spending more *later* by buying a dress (when I needed it, of course), from an online store!

So if I look at it a certain way, buying this dress now would mean I'd be saving money later! It's all so simple, really... that is, until at the end of the month when my credit card bill finally arrives.

Living on credit is like being able to spend as much as you want for about 20-25 precious days, then getting a heart attack at the end of the month. I don't recommend it.

Still, out of all these silly purchases and the excuses I make in my head to justify them, there was no purchase more stupid than the one I made a few months ago.

Hanging around in Eastwood means constantly seeing 20-somethings walking around with their lovely little dogs who are all dressed up in the cutest little outfits. Apparently, Eastwood had turned into Pet City years ago, and by 2008, puppies were the newest accessories! As my family had been in the habit of keeping pets since I was a little girl, I thought that buying one myself would provide me with company, affection, and a great new arm decoration.

Boy, was I wrong.

After the initial fantastic, blissful, THREE HOURS with this adorable little ball of fur, I was suddenly faced with the conundrum of actually taking care of it. Apparently, living in a home with a dog was quite different from owning a dog. The former means that you get to play with it and occasionally help with giving it a bath. The latter, however, means that you have to feed it, clean it, clean up when it poops and pees, and have to watch it constantly to make sure that it doesn't eat your furniture.

It took me all of two days with my constantly barking little monster before I called it quits. I was so desperate to get rid of it, that I gave it away. By that time, the actual cost of the dog had been added to by the cost of its shots, full grooming at Pet Central, it's little maroon bed, doggy shampoo and accessories, a carrying bag, countless toys and doggy treats, and its little cage.

I gave all of this away to my buddy's girlfriend FOR FREE. I was that desperate to have her take it away. Of course, I could've advertised online and tried to find a home for it there, but the girl had been sweet, eager for a puppy, and most importantly: she had a yard. I don't know how the myriad of yuppies keep their pets in their condos , but after my pup had urinated on all my rugs, chewed up my chair legs and done its business on my laptop bag, I had decided that my little Shi Tzu was an Outdoor Pup.

It was an expensive lesson to learn, and one that I managed to pay for by forgoing fencing lessons and taking on extra projects for the next couple of weeks.

After that, I swore up and down that I'd wait for a week before making any more large purchases, and only buy something if I still wanted it after time had passed. Of course, this commitment held only until the cutest little charm bracelet caught my eye... But that's another story for another time! ;)

Does my story remind you of your own shopaholic fits? Sophie Kinsella's "Confessions of a Shopaholic" may be quite an eye-opening novel for you. It's a great read and (at times) hit uncomfortably close to home, lol. I'll definitely be watching the movie.

Catch Confessions of a Shopaholic in cinemas on February 18, 2009!