Spending Habits of an (Almost) Rehabbed Shopaholic

I haven’t written much about my most recent stint in shopaholic rehab.  Technically, I have a few days left of my one month spending freeze, but on Monday I mistakenly thought I was done (oops) and immediately made a list of everything I want to buy (new flip flops, summer bag, white jeans and, of course, more sundresses).  I’ll never be cured, will I?    Maybe not, but I’m learning a lot.

I’m a shifter.  No more anthropologie.com?  No problem.  I just shifted my shopaholic behavior from online clothing shopping to online vacation shopping.  And booking a hotel room isn’t really buying it.  It’s just reserving it, right?  Mike and I having been talking about planning a summer getaway for a while, but my sudden burst of energy toward the project was beyond obsessive.   In the end, I found a great deal and booked it (two kid-free nights in Naples, FL in July!), but I’m not exactly proud of myself.

So, Monday marked my mistaken first day post-rehab and I ended up at Pier 1 buying a $20 doormat for the front door.  It was not a necessary purchase – in fact it was silly – but it scratched an itch and it added some curb appeal to the front of the house.   On Tuesday, I entered a mall but bought nothing.  On Wednesday, my credit card was on fire, but not like you think.  I bought a baby gift for a good friend who just had her second boy, I had the most amazing brownies in the world (Fat Witch Brownies) delivered to a close friend who just finalized her divorce (I may have just ruined that surprise for her) and I donated $25 to Barack Obama’s 2012 Campaign.  The donation entered me for a chance to have dinner with the President…an occasion that would definitely require some shopping!  I bought all this stuff and none of it was for me and that’s a good thing, I think.  But was it the giving or the spending that made me so happy?

I’m not sure what to do now except get back on the wagon until it’s time to pack for Naples…or at least until Saturday when my spending freeze officially ends.  Until then, does anyone need help planning a vacation?