UnShopping: Recovery Solutions from an Ex-Shopaholic

In January 2013, I created the blog “Recovering Shopaholic” in an effort to heal myself from a decades-long compulsive shopping problem. I hoped to keep myself accountable and potentially inspire and connect with those other shopaholics who wished to recover and trade their full closets for full lives.

From the beginning, I made an effort to include useful tips and suggestions for my readers in all of my posts. As I progressed with my recovery, I shared my insights gained and tools developed so that others could apply them to their own lives and learn to shop more consciously and wisely.

This book contains the best of my smart shopping solutions from “Recovering Shopaholic,” categorized into logical sections related to various shopping-related situations. These solutions have all been revised and enhanced from the original versions that appeared on the blog. You can read this book from cover to cover or use it as a reference to address your specific challenges.

The book begins with twelve “quick tips” you can use to start shopping smarter right away. From there, I delve into topics related to accountability, general shopping strategies, and tips for before you shop as well as for while you’re in the store. I also include a number of “special topics,” such as resale shopping, shopping with friends, shopping during times of transition, and dealing with holiday shopping challenges.