I came out of my three-hour Geology Lab one day and walked straight to King Street to go shopping. Why? Well, I had a coupon from Francesca's for a free candle and if I spent $65 at PINK/Victoria's Secret, I could get a free Sherpa Vest. But mostly, it was because I thought to myself, "I deserve it."

And that's what I tell myself every time I do a little retail therapy. But, I end up doing retail therapy way too often. "Because I deserve it."

It had been a rough week. Coming back from Hurrication full-swing, fasting for 25 hours for Yom Kippur and taking Uber after Uber back and forth to the synagogue. After my lab, it was the first time that week I had some me-time. Instead of going back to my room and taking a nap, I spend my paycheck.

Retail Therapy has become my coping mechanism for everything. Happy? Retail Therapy. Sad? Retail Therapy. Stressed? Retail Therapy. Got out of bed today? Let's do some Retail Therapy!

Don't even get me started on sales or when you get a freebie for spending a certain amount of money, because then I feel almost obligated to spend!

While it may feel good to have new things that we feel good in, that feeling only lasts for so long. Not only do those things take up space, causing more clutter, but we're spending our money! (Now, if you have a gift card, go ahead. You'd be dumb not to!) But all of those hours you spent working your butt off to get a good paycheck just went out the door when you bought that cute new jacket. Does anyone have buyer's regret? Because I know I sure do when I get my bank statement.

Yet, we never learn from our own mistakes. I have become obsessed with spending money. I cannot walk into a store without wanting to buy something, and then I feel bad — almost empty — when I don't spend my money there. It's especially bad when I enjoy watching other people spend their own money. I could spend hours on YouTube watching Beauty Gurus (or BeauTubers, if you're a Jenna Marbles fan) do Sephora hauls, fashion vloggers do their "New At ____" hauls, etc. It's become an actual obsession, or rather an addiction. My heart pounds with excitement every time I or someone else spends money.

I definitely have to learn to budget my finances better, but admitting your faults is the first step to fixing them, right? Since it's the Jewish New Year, I've decided to make that my resolution. But, it doesn't have to be a holiday or big event to reign in your addiction. So step back, take a deep breath, and put the credit card back in your wallet. Retail Therapy, as fun as it is while it's happening, is not going to fix your life.