Confessions of a Shopaholic
Britain is in the grip of 'recession shopaholism' according to a study by comparison site uSwitch, building up unsecured debts totalling more than £24 BILIION. That's 1 in 6 of the adult, UK population that is racking up huge personal debts on credit cards, store cards and loans.
uSwitch defines a 'recession shopaholic' as someone who spends more than half of their unsecured debt on fashion purchases, just like the Rebecca Bloomwood character played by Isla Fisher in the hit movie Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Battle of the Sexes
According to the study, men have a greater personal debt averaging £3,425 compared to women's £3,353. However, overall, women owe £13 billion in unsecured loans compared to just over £10 billion that men owe. Female shopaholics rack up 77% of their personal debt on fashion and grooming related items, perhaps surprisingly men are very close on 75%. Surprisingly, men are also spending more money on grooming products than women. On average, male shopaholics spend £338 a year on cosmetics and skincare products while women spend just £191. However men also spend more than double on technology and gadgets. Anne Robinson, the head of consumer policy for uSwitch says, "This spend-emic has spread and it's clear that men too have caught on to the joys and perils of shopping," she added.
This is traditionally called Oniomania, first diagnosed in 1915, this is the compulsive desire to shop and offers the same highs and lows often associated with many other addictions.
Celebrity Culture
Anne Robinson continues, "In today's celebrity obsessed society, any lessons learnt from the recession have been airbrushed out of the picture. Despite the financial constraints, women have carried on copying the lifestyles and shopping habits of their idols and ignoring the debt they are racking up in the process." Some have even regarded the recent spate of bad economic forecasts as a reason to carry on spending beyond their means, with 4% stating that they are spending more to "cheer themselves up".
This is absolutely the worst thing that anyone with these levels of unsecured debt should do. They need to come to terms with the fact that they are in debt and contact a debt management company to help them sort out their debt problems.
Shopping may make you happy in the short term (and we're all guilty of it to some level) but having a secure financial future will provide long term happiness and security, and will allow you the pleasure rush of new purchase without the following guilt from unsecured debt.
If you are worried about your debt problems, or know someone who is, then contact us on 0800 988 7701 for free debt advice and arrange a face to face meeting with one our advisors.
