Hi, I'm 22 and my Amazon shopping addiction is destroying my marriage. I used to have really bad Kleptomania when I was younger, before I got with my husband. I didn't realize until now that the two could be connected. My husband never said no when I wanted things. But then my son came into the picture and he still didn't say no. He admitted to me today just how much it hurt. I never felt the guilt from buying small things that I wanted. But I put myself before my family and I didn't realize it was a problem until now. What do I do? I work and I use my debit card to shop. Please any tips to help. I have anxiety and depression and I take medication for both.
how does it hurt your husband? financially? emotionally?
You and your husband could benefit from making a budget for your spending.
If you had an agreed upon amount you can spend each month, do you think you could stick to it?
@Inmylittleroom both emotionally and financially. He worries when I spend money that we won’t have enough for bills but we always scrape by. We talked a lot about how to go about fixing it and decided that after all the bills are paid and the house is taken care of, then we can focus on things we need, then if there’s anything left, we get things that we want. I am just worried about how not being able to shop anymore is going to affect me.
I’m so sorry you’re going though this. I get the sense that my partner thinks I have a spending problem, and he’s right. I got rid of my Amazon prime subscription and have a budget but I can’t seem to adhere to it. Online shopping is a problem for a lot of people—it’s empathize an instant dopamine hit. I think creating a budget can help but when you have an addiction that’s not enough. I hope you find something that works for you, but in the meantime, know that you’re not selfish or a bad person, even if your spending is impacting your family.