Hello, My Name is Hamsterkitten, and I'm a Shopping Addict

I've inherited a gene that causes me to have an addiction... to shopping.  If there is the word sale or clearance on anything, my mom will buy it- in every color available.  I try to convince myself it's okay by going even further.  Thrift shops and ebay are my vices.  Okay, so clearance racks call to me and I find myself being a schizophrenic standing in the middle of the store listening to the sweet voices call out "over here, 75% off... that's practically free... they are pretty much giving you free clothes, come Hammy, come over and browse our rack."

I can't help it.  I'm a girl, I'm genetically predisposed to wanting to look pretty.  And clothes are how I do it!  My favorite thing about thrift stores and ebay is that I don't have to worry about running into people wearing the same thing.  I remember being in high school and like the only store in town to buy clothes other than WalMart was Maurices.  Well, I would see the same shirt on 50 girls and they each had that shirt in 5 colors.  Forget that, my friends!  I may have a dime a dozen personality, but I refuse to look like it!

Now, point me in the direction of a man with a wallet to support my habit.  Okay, better yet, point me in the position of a job that meets all my impossible requirements plus pays me at least a grand a week.  Either way, life is not fair if I can't spend some simple cash every day buying myself a new shirt because it's getting to the point where I may end up going out and someone will notice I'm wearing the same shirt I wore 3 months ago.

And yes, I'm being an overindulgent, wasteful person who is selfish and doesn't think about how the money could be going to impoverished children in third world countries.  It's my vice, so na na na na.

Here's my newest pair of shoes that I ordered with some extra ebay money a couple weeks back.  They are called "Maneater" and I'm pretty sure I love them the most right now.  Might be a tie with this pair of faux fur lined clogs that I bought on clearance at Cato a month ago.

How many shopping days until next Christmas?

I am an early shopper. Since my kids both have birthdays around Christmas, I know that if I wait until December to buy presents for them and everyone else, I won't be able to pay my electric bill until February. So, I love shopping early. And I've also been buying school books lately. When doing either of these I like to compare shopping prices because I don't like paying full price for anything. (I think I inherited this gene from my mother.) She can spot shopping deals a mile away. I will find a book that I want for $1, but keep looking at all these different sites because maybe, just maybe, I will find them for a penny.

Anyway, I have a couple favorite places that I like to look for things, like LTD Commodities, Ebay, Amazon, Half.com, Abe Books, Buy.com and Bestwebbuys.com. And then of course, I'll check walmart.com to compare, but I just learned the other day that walmart.com and the WalMart stores are not actually as linked as one would think and you will often find a discrepancy between prices in the store and on the website. For instance, you could find a dishwasher on their website for cheaper than in the store, get free site to store shipping and voila! You just saved some money. You'd be surprised how many appliances you can actually buy from WalMart.

Anyway, these are just some things to think about now that you have a few shopping days until next Christmas, lol. I think I probably buy the majority of gifts through the summer months, but my motto is that if you shop all year round, you don't have to worry about running out of money come holiday time!

Do you guys have any money saving tips when it comes to holiday shopping or good websites to find great deals?






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