Modern Living
As technology develops more and more inventions that are supposed to make our lives easier and more enjoyable, more people may find their financial situation growing increasingly difficult to manage. Machines, devices and entertainment now all come with a high price tag, and trying to provide these for your family can be hard.
Wanting to keep abreast of these developments can cause people to develop a spending addiction. This addiction not only provides the person with all the things they want but also gives a feeling of being on a high. This ‘high’ feeling becomes increasingly difficult to achieve so the spending has to grow with the intensity of the desire feeling meaning that the purchases get more expensive or the gestures become grander.
The Dangers Of Spending Addiction
The biggest danger of developing a spending addiction is the possible consequences to your financial status. Initially, the person may spend as they can afford but as the addiction develops and the purchases grow in expense, number and size the price tag inevitably increases. As debt begins to grow the person may feel trapped by the restrictions put on them by this and feel depressed and have a low mood. These feelings increase the chances of the person indulging in their addiction as they try to make themselves feel better by buying something new which causes their debt to increase further and so begins a vicious circle.
Noticing A Spending Addiction
There are some signs that someone you know or live with has developed a spending addiction. Firstly they may suddenly have an increase in the number of posts they receive as banks and credit cards are contacted for financial help and debt spirals. Also, the person may begin to wear lots of new clothes that they may only wear once or twice before discarding.
They may also come home from being out shopping and disappear to another room so that those around them do not see their purchases as they feel embarrassed or ashamed as the addiction develops. The person may also start to borrow money, stating reasonable excuses for needing the loan; this may be followed by being unable to pay it back on time, if at all.
Spending addictions are growing in Britain every year as people feel more pressured to have the best of everything or provide for their children, as well as trying to follow fashion and this can cause serious repercussions that may affect the rest of their life if they run up large debts and can’t pay them back.
The consequences of being in debt can also affect mental health as the person tries to deal with the addiction, the withdrawal and the consequences for the rest of their life.