Help me, I'm addicted to shopping

[MyGastIsFlabbered]

Seriously, I love any excuse to buy anything. I got excited when our can opener broke.

I've had to quit my job because it was costing me over £100 a month more in childcare than I was earning so basically I'll have no income other than child benefit. My spending has got to stop.

Can anyone help?

I got confused trying to put in my regular transactions & then they didn't show up on the budget. Will watch the tutorial later.

regular trasnactions wont show on the budget but they go into the spend section on the dates they are due. I write my descriptions of each item including how much I need to allocate to that item each month so I allocate the correct amount when the money comes in eg 'Water £58' is the description. You can edit descriptions by clicking on them.

I found going to the library and borrowing books/CDs etc. gave almost the same buzz. Then, when I was a little more flush, moving small amounts into savings account online, paying a small cheque into passbook savings account (with the attendant trip to town and free tea in Waitrose), buying a small bond (Nationwide used to do a year-long one with a minimum of £20). These things all gave me that small buzz of acquisition and power, but without the regretful realisation that I had wasted £20 on a cheap bag that somehow wasn't going to solve everything.

But even now, I can't take my purse out of the house unless I have a definite planned spend - I keep a £2 coin in coat pocket for emergencies.

I am on maternity leave too and my spending is far worse. I'm bored!! I spend loads every time I go into town and seem to have a ridiculous appetitive for online shopping for clothes for myself. I say I'll send most of it back but always keep something. We
Can afford all this but my wardrobe is bursting at the seems and I need to find something else to occupy me (other than the kids of course)