As shopaholics, we are called by higher beings like Free People and Kate Spade to use our skills. We are called to shop, and we have the constant desire to do so. Everything you look at is telling you to shop. Magazines, billboards, and even the girl in the questionable outfit on the bus. As we head into our sanctuary (the mall), we look in our wallets and realize...we're broke. This is the hardest moment for a shopaholic. In order to refrain from using our gifts, we have to keep from going to the mall, or Target, at all costs.
The first hardship for a broke shopaholic is that with all this new fancy technology, people can now shop from anywhere. This includes church, class, and even riding shotgun in a car. Being able to see a store's new fall line makes it so hard to focus. Our higher shop-beings are always calling, and we are always ready to shop. This might be a great thing when you have a pocket full of cash, but when you are a broke college girl like me, this is the worst.
The second hardship of being a broke shopaholic is that there is always an event we need an outfit for. What happens when you're asked out on a date? Do people really think that we can just look in our dingy closets and pick something out? I don't think so! Another issue is party outfits. We can't dare wear the same outfit, because there are already pictures of us in it online! I mean, have you seen the "Lizzie McGuire" movie? Shopaholics cannot be outfit repeaters!
The third hardship is that many people do not understand our struggles. Tons of girls can walk into a mall and buy whatever they want! Other girls don't even care enough to look. But as broke shopaholics, we are not so lucky! Instead, we are the girls that walk into a store, fall in love with a article of clothing, and have to leave the precious piece behind because money does not grow on trees.
The fourth hardship of a broke shopaholic is that we fall into the SALE trap! Picture this. You're walking past Victoria's Secret and you see a sign that says FREE tote with purchase. You instantly dash inside and pick up the cheapest pair of cute panties you can find. Happy that you will be making a successful and cheap purchase, you walk to the cashier with pride. Setting down the panties, you swipe your card for $7.50 only to find that FREE totes only come with a $70 purchase. Stuck with a pair of cheap panties that you didn't want or need, you walk out of the store tote-less and more broke than you were before! Stores use these mean things called sales to pull broke shopaholics in, because they know we will fall for it every single time.
The fifth hardship of being a shopaholic is that websites like Pinterest and Tumblr show us all of these cute outfit ideas of girls who can layer like goddesses. You instantly screenshot the picture and send it to your group message, showing that you claim dibs. The next issue is, we now have the inspiration to buy a super chic boho outfit, but it costs like twenty billion dollars to layer cute clothes. You are now stuck in a hard place, because you have claimed dibs on an outfit that can never be bought!
Thankfully, there are many answers to our shopaholic prayers! If our friends wear the same size, we can always borrow their cute outfits. Also, thrift stores and places like Plato's Closet can have great stuff sometimes. You just have to search for the good deals! There may be tons of hardships that come with being a broke shopaholic, but if we save our money and work hard, the shopping spree of our dreams is right around the corner!
