Next week is Thanksgiving and the holiday frenzy has already begun. I thought this would be a good time to address compulsive shopping. Do you find yourself purchasing things you don’t need, want or can’t afford? Are your shelves, drawers, and closets filled with items you purchased and never used or even opened? Do you purchase things to make you feel good? Are you constantly browsing the internet and home shopping networks searching for things to purchase? Compulsive shopping adds clutter and costs you money. Here are a list of questions to ask yourself when you’re thinking about purchasing an item.

• Is the item a “need” or a “want”?
• Why do I need or want the item?
• Am I buying it because it’s pretty or on sale? Am I fulfilling a temporary need to make me feel good?
• Do I already have something similar to it?
• Is this item useful?
• What am I going to use it for and will I really use this item?
• Can I afford to buy this item? If I can afford the item, am I buying it because I can but don’t really need it?
• Do I have a place to store this item?
• How will this item enhance my life?
• If purchasing the item for someone else, am I purchasing it because the person likes or needs the item or am I purchasing it because I like it or think they need it?

I hope that the above list of questions will help you when shopping regardless of the time of year. Make a list of what you need and be mindful especially around the holidays.