Internet Shopping has Become A Habit—Must. Stop. Now.

The week was going pretty well for me. Despite the fact that I have been having a bad case of blogger’s writer’s block, I’ve been gaining momentum in other aspects of my life. I was feeling a sense of peace and ease. That is, until I took a look at my bank account last night.

I felt myself hyperventilating a bit when I noticed my balance. And then, I thought there must be a mistake somewhere—a double charge, no a triple charge! Or maybe someone hacked into my account and stole my funds. There had to be an explanation why my balance was so low.

I began looking through the transactions that had posted and there was nothing that was fraudulent or in error. And then I began noticing a trend—there were over twenty charges for items that I purchased last week online. That MAC online sale? Damage. That outfit from Spiegel that I didn’t really need? Damage. Over twenty-five items of damage.

Damage to my bank account that is.

Add to those charges, were other charges of automatic payments or subscriptions that I forgot to “stop”. Those amounts add up. I don’t even remember buying all of this stuff. I mean, I knew I purchased a few things online but had no idea that I had spent so much. Everything I bought was on sale!

Earlier this year, I wrote about speaking with a financial planner to get my financial house in order. And I was doing a good job, but this month, I went a little crazy and the end result is that I am broke. I don’t want to touch my savings, but I just may have to because my balance not get me and my family through the rest of this month.

I made a crazed call to my Financial Mentor who told me to relax, relate, and release. She proposed that I return most of the items and stop all of the automatic payments that were not for actual bills. I felt a little better when talking to her. And we came up with a gameplan, one that I will be following to the “T’.

• Internet shopping is for must-haves only and cannot exceed $100 per month under any circumstance.
• The debit card will not be used for any more Internet purchases. I will use a prepaid card for online transactions.
• I must keep a daily record and tally of my amount spent on Mint.com account as well as keep a money diary.
• Eating out will be limited to no more than twice per week and cannot exceed $75.00 per week.
• Any memberships and subscriptions not in use will be canceled immediately in writing.
• I am to take out $200.00 per week cash and use that without using my credit card/debit card for weekly expenses.
• I am to unsubscribe to stores and online merchants mass email campaigns so I will not be tempted to make a purchase during their next big SALE.

I feel a little better now that I have the game plan, but I still am kicking myself for spending so much money last week like I was Kim Kardashian or some Hollywood socialite. You must do better, Danyelle! Ugh!