I was spending £700 a month: How I beat my late-night shopping addiction

Image source, Ella HewittImage caption, Ella says she would spend her wages "as soon as they hit my account"ByDaniel ThomasBusiness reporterPublished9 minutes agoYou may well have been there. It's late, you're scrolling on your phone and suddenly feel a strong urge to buy something - only to wake up the next day and regret it.But what happens when those impulse buys become a habit rather than a one-off?One global study suggests 7% of adults, external experience shopping addiction, external - an uncontrollable urge to spend despite the financial consequences - and younger women are more susceptible.Ella Hewitt, from Liverpool, says her shopping addiction got so bad in 2021 that she was spending up to £700 a month on fast fashion she couldn't afford and sometimes never even wore."I didn't grow up with much money, so when I got a job I would spend my wages as soon as they hit my account," says the 24-year-old."That dopamine hit kept me shopping and in the world of social media there is just so much encouragement to do that."She says she would often make purchases on TikTok or Instagram when she was "tired" or "bored", lured by the latest trends on her feeds.Image source, Ella HewittImage caption, Ella says she was "horrified" by the amount she was buyingShe was working as an HR assistant in a school at the time and her spending meant she couldn't afford to move out of her family home."Horrified" by how much she was buying, she began using diversionary tactics to control her spending.One was to put anything she felt like buying on a wish list and wait 30 days. "If I still wanted it, I would buy it, but more often than not I'd find the urge had gone," she says.'I'm way more in control'Ella gave herself an imaginary budget of £1,000 each day to spend on imaginary purchases, which "scratched the itch" of shopping without the cost. And she vowed only to buy something if she could afford to "buy it three times"."Overall, I cut my spending by about 60%," says Ella, who now works as an ethical fashion influencer and plans to launch her own clothing brand. "I'm not perfect. There are times when I will buy things because I want it. But I am way more in control."Image source, JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, Some people have deleted shopping apps from their phone to make it harder to spendThe Ukat Group, which runs addiction treatment centres across the country, says it has seen more people with a shopping addiction and 90% are women. It says there are various signs you may have a , externalproblem, external, such as your mood improving immediately after making a purchase, or feeling guilty or ashamed afterwards. You may also lie to loved ones about your spending habit or have a home "full of items you don't need or use".Tips to get your spending under controlWait 48 hours or longer before you purchase something. Often the urge will goDelete saved credit card numbers and shopping apps Write a shopping list before you enter a store or visit a site, and stick to itSet a small budget for guilt-free treats, or create an imaginary oneUnsubscribe from retailer newsletters and alerts and unfollow influencersUse up products before buying new ones; accessorise rather than buying brand new outfits. Know your triggers: If you shop when you feel lonely, bored or stressed, try exercise or talking with a friend instead Seek help: Citizens Advice, Stepchange, Christians Against Poverty and National Debtline can all offer advice on money problems.Sources: The United Nations Federal Credit Union, Christians Against Poverty'I would buy anything that was trending'Image source, Disha PatelImage caption, Dish Patel says her spending meant she was "always broke"Dish Patel, 23, from London, says she was spending so much on clothes, food, make-up and skincare as a student that she "maxed out" her £2,500 overdraft and was "always broke". Like Ella, she thinks she was making up for not having much money as a child, but the joy was always short-lived. "The feeling you get when you open your new parcels is always amazing until the dopamine hit dies down and the cycle repeats."Dish, who now works as a financial planner, says she would buy "pretty much anything that was trending" but her biggest vice was scrolling on shopping apps to pass the time.'I didn't want to spend the money twice'Then, she deleted shopping apps like Asos and Pretty Little Thing from her phone and removed ApplePay to make it harder to buy things in a single click.She even started leaving her bank cards at home when she went to work. "I would bring a packed lunch in and I would buy my train ticket on Trainline the night before... This basically put me in a habit of not spending a single thing and pre-planning my day to ensure I don't spend anything."She also vowed that any time she wanted to buy something, she had to put the same amount of money into her savings or investments. "It worked because I didn't want to spend the money twice." Figure caption, What do you spend too much on?Research last year from Vanquis, a challenger bank, found Gen Z shoppers make more impulse purchases than any other age group, external, closely followed by millennials.And some experts say exposure to social media, with its targeted advertising, influencer culture and seamless one-click checkout, is fuelling the trend, external.Money and Mental Health, a charity, also blames the design of online shopping sites for "minimising the friction around spending money". It points to "pop-ups" that put customers under pressure to spend, and the inclusion of alternative payment methods like Buy Now Pay Later.The BBC has contacted Meta, which owns Instagram, TikTok and Asos for comment.Get in touchHave you been affected by issues covered in this story?Contact formRelated topicsShoppingAddictionSocial mediaCost of Living Personal finance