Test shows whether you're a shopaholic

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

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There's a new way to tell if you should leave those credit cards at home before you hit the stores. A short test can tell if you're a possible shopaholic.

Hanging around the Gateway mall, you meet people shopping for all sorts of reasons. Some people, like Julie, seem to go whenever they can, although when I met her, she said she was shopping for someone else.

"Oh, it's a birthday present, so this time it's not for me," she said. Others, like Eddie, go shopping as little as possible because they hate the process.

"If I need something, I'll pay too much for it just out of convenience," he said.

I gave these two a new test that helps people know if they should consider themselves a problem shopper. It's a simple test, based on only six statements. On a scale of one to seven you rate how much you agree with that statement.

My closet has unopened shopping bags in it
Others might consider me a shopaholic
Much of my life centers around buying things
I buy things I don't need
I buy things I did not plan to buy
I consider myself an impulse purchaser

If you add up the scores from all of the statements and you score higher than 25, you're considered an impulse buyer. At the end of the test, Eddie scored very low.

I told him, "You got a score of six." He responded, "Sweet."

But Julie got a 27. She said, "Ooh. So maybe my dad's right."

Still, even though she admits she shops a lot, she would not say it's a problem.

"I only spend the money that I have," she said.

But some psychiatrists say they've seen a person's addictions ruin their lives

Psychiatrist Dr. Carmella Javellana said, "I think, to some extent, shopaholics have an awareness of their own suffering just by opening their closets and maybe looking at their checkbooks."

Javellana says shopaholics are mostly driven by emotion, so the trick is to create a spending plan that takes emotion out of the equation. She says that takes focus, which can be learned.

"Part of their goal would be, let's say, financial recovery. If they're clear about their financial recovery then they can formulate a plan that is consistent with that goal," she said.

Javellana says shopping addictions can sneak up on people because people are not as cautious to compulsive shopping as drug use or drinking.

E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com