What are some things you bought that you kinda regret, but also learned a lot from - let me know!

"Thrifting is NOT going to solve your shopping addiction"...this hit me hard.

My son is 16 and I think he's got something figured out that most of us don't. He refuses name brand clothes because he wont promote the company on his dime. He just says they aren't paying me to advertise for them, and wears a regular black t-shirt.

I recently started to understand what it means to shop for a fantasy version of myself. It’s insane how many outfits I bought for scenarios that either never happened, or happen 1-2 times a year.

I read that overconsumption/overspending is caused by "chasing a feeling", and for a while I went with "duh, I'm sad, and shiny new things make me happy". When I finally dug deeper I realized that losing my dad last year meant I lost the greatest source of safety and security in my life, and every purchase I made was in an effort to feel more prepared and therefore more safe: "I need this particular bag for my things, I need this particularly versatile shoe for whatever situation may arise" etc. I've started working on my health to feel more secure in my body and improving certain skills to feel more secure in my competence instead. Just the self awareness itself helps so much!

Recently went to pick up an online order from one of the stores I usually go to (once a week). You need to say the last 4 digits of your phone number to receive your package. When the sales person entered the digits without even asking me, I knew I had a problem😂

I don't think I have ever bought one big dumb thing, it was just years and years and years of Poshmark fails that didn't fit or didn't work on me, buying things online that looked amazing and trendy but turned out to be cheap and essentially disposable, buying "statement pieces" that I felt weird wearing regularly so I never had anything to wear and had to keep acquiring. And to go where?!

The ironic thing is that you can get addicted to buying anything. If you buy clothes or makeup, you might realize at some point that it's unnecessary, but I used to buy way too many books (at least a third of them just to say I owned them). The dangerous thing is that no one will ever tell you to stop buying books; most people who see a huge library will praise you without realizing they are fueling a dangerous obsession. I do mean dangerous. I love them, but they take up a lot of space, money, and care. Today, I'm proud to say I finished all the books I bought (a few more than 1,500) and don't allow myself to buy a new one until I finish the current one. I also switched from paperback to an e-reader... it's not the same experience, but it's cheaper (sometimes free) and clutter-free

My turning point was when a worker in h and m shouted over their colleague to see how many points I had on the members app because she’d never seen so many. That really embarrassed me

a saying that has helped me is "it's only a sale if you need it." I'm glad you're debt free. thanks for the video.

Well done Christina. You overcame a powerful addiction. Dopamine is a ruthless drug and we are surrounded by dealers.

“I fixated on a problem and spent all my time trying to buy a solution”… I feel uncomfortably called out by this. I fixate on who I want to be and what that person would wear/own instead of the uncomfortable part of trying and working towards it because failing scares me.

I had a sale addiction. If it was on a clearance rack, I purchased it in every color. I was so proud of walking out of stores like The Gap with 2 bags but only spent $100. Before I knew it I had like 1000 items of just “meh” items. I have been on a low buy for over 5 years now, using what I have while decluttering and using up things.

I had terrible self esteem and I was living somewhere that I was not happy. To get out of the house, I would go to the mall or the thrift stores and just buy things.
I was trying to buy decor or organizers to fix how ugly I thought my space was. My best friend/roomate didn't really care about maintaining our space and she was very uncaring that I thought where we lived was dark and sad and never clean. So I bought a lot of things to try and fix the house.
I was also briefly obsessed with the tight foundation shade and I bought and returned 3 foundations at sephora before giving up.
I had bad acne, so I bought cleansers and toners and acids to try to clear it up. None of it worked, and I would just use it and lose money and feel frustrated that it wasn't working.
I bought so many bra and underwear sets from Victoria's Secret and La Vie en Rose because wearing those pretty things made me feel better about my poky, undernourished body.
I was trying to buy a me that was pretty and not crippled by insecurity.
I just ended up obsessed and... not broke, but I could have saved so much more money had I knocked it off.
My best friend and I were going through issues in our relationship and it came to a head one night. She told me to move out and I did.
Having all of your things packed up in the middle of the night really puts things into perspective.
I had so many clothes and things. Everything ended up shoved in garbage bags and stored in my grandma's workshop. Everything got full of the smell of oil and dust and some things were infested with spiders.
I went through it all ruthlessly.

I bought a condo,
My closet is full of things I wear,
I got put on medication for my acne and it's gone. Even better, the medication is covered. I don't have to pay a cent.
My body is healthy again and the hair on my temples has grown back.
Going to the mall makes me uncomfortable now and when I do go, I rarely make more than a single necessary purchase.
I have a mortgage, but I'm able to pay it and still be comfortable.
The thing is, I was trying to buy happiness and it was too much money.
Now that I've stopped doing that, I feel content.
Christina, through all of last year, you were playing in the background and telling me to go easy on myself. You gave me advice on how to choose myself over materialism.
Without you, I think the last year would have been much more difficult. I really want to thank you for holding my hand as I waded through all of life's garbage.

You’ve influenced me to start buying minis of makeup and it’s been amazing. Not only do I have makeup that I can actually use up, it’s less financially impactful to make a mistake.

Buying into "green" skincare and make up. So much money spent on products with no "chemicals" only to much later learn that everything has chemicals (and I felt so high and mighty doing it! Who even was I?) Ugh.

This is such a wise, self aware video. Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing. I think it will help a lot of people.

I TOTALLY relate to this as a reformed shopaholic. I loved to shop because I got a rush from "the hunt". I think the biggest wake-up call was one day I went to an estate sale with a friend and they has some AMAZING offerings. My friend was like, "There are SO many amazing things, how can they be getting rid of this? Everything is so well taken care of....." and it REALLY hit me that this person is gone and the things that meant everything to her were just items that needed to be purged in her family's eyes. Nobody is going to love my "stuff" like me so just I've focused my efforts on stopping the accumulation, using up/getting good wear out of what I currently have.

I too thought being Sephora rouge was a flex.  Now I am embarrassed by it.  At least you are an influencer, I was just buying stupidly.  And don’t let me get started on how I convinced myself that shoes under $500 are uncomfortable.  I’m glad I got it together too.

I bought sooo much clothing in my early 20s thinking that I could justify expensive high end “basics” because they were “timeless.” Little did I realize, my body would completely change size and shape as I aged. None of those clothes fit anymore nor are they really my style!