Posted by Mike Smith :: December 24, 2007 @ 5:42 am

There are many legitimate reasons to go shopping: to satisfy a basic need, prepare for a special event, or even to reward yourself by spending some fun money. However, shopping for shopping’s sake should be avoided.

I know people who go shopping as a pastime, merely for the entertainment of it. While there are certainly worse ways to spend your time and money, there are also much better ways. These people will go out to Target or to the mall “just to shop” without any other real purpose.

You can avoid shopping for shopping’s sake by only shopping from a specific list. Having a list doesn’t preclude you from browsing; it just helps to prevent you from purchasing things that you really don’t need.

Shopping for shopping’s sake is, at its core, really a discussion of needs versus wants. If you don’t have any needs, you may go shopping to discover new things that you want. You then convince yourself that those wants are needs and end up spending money unnecessarily. While many products and services do make life easier, if you’re surviving without knowledge of their existence, then you probably don’t need them.

When you go shopping without a specific purpose in mind, you tend to spend more money. Some people can afford to spend this money, but most people finance such purchases through debt. In addition to making all purchases more expenses because of the high interest rates and fees normally associated with debt, such a method also holds people back from reaching their true financial potential.

If debt has its hold on you, whether from shopping for shopping’s sake, or for any other reason, you can get out from under that debt more quickly by consolidating with a P2P loan from Lending Club. Whether you’re in debt, on your way there, or finally on your way out, shopping only when you have a defined purpose is a habit critical to your financial health.