"I knew Mom's hiding spot: the little chest on top of her dresser. As a teenager, I'd slip into my parents' room when they weren't home and pocket $5 or $10. Later, I'd feel only a hint of guilt as I slurped my Jamba Juice under the suburban San Diego sun. Mostly, I was nervous I'd get caught. Anything I made from my weekend waitressing gig flew quickly out of my hands, spent shopping."
"I was $10,000 in the hole. I had a salaried job, but I spent wildly on discounted clothing and vintage home decor, and had a sneaking suspicion I might be one of the approximately 5% of Americans with compulsive buying disorder. But I was too embarrassed to admit it. The more I bought, the less value anything had - and the less I valued myself. Still, I couldn't stop."
Secret teenage shoplifting and impulsive purchases carried into adulthood as habitual shopping that temporarily eased self-consciousness but drained finances. Weekend earnings and paychecks were quickly spent on discounted clothing and vintage home decor. The pattern persisted for fifteen years, culminating in $10,000 of credit-card debt despite a salaried job. Embarrassment prevented admitting a possible compulsive buying disorder. A financial advisor warned that rising interest would impede saving for children or a house. A partner transferred funds to address the debt. Broader consumer trends include record online holiday sales, surging buy-now-pay-later debt, and $1.23 trillion in collective credit-card balances.
Read at HuffPost
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