"Stop Me Before I Shop Again" - The Shopping Diet Book by Celebrity Stylist Phillip Bloch

Whether you're buying it for yourself or as a holiday gift this is a great book.  It's an easy read and has some great tips to help you save money.  Written by outspoken celebrity stylist/personality Phillip Bloch who has outfitted everyone from Sandra Bullock to Cindi Crawford.  The celebrity stylist's unique and thought-provoking approach to looking great for less gives you fascinating insights and practical solutions to the very real problem of overspending that affects millions of people.  Click on the image to browse inside the book.
Try the following test from the book to see if the Shopping Diet is for you:

Shopping Reality Check



Whether your buying sprees would make a celebutante heiress blush or you feel you simply shop unwisely, there's a lot to be learned by analyzing your spending patterns. This will take a little detective work. First, collect your bank statements, credit card bills, and receipts from the past six months. If you don't keep those types of documents, you should! Start collecting them immediately and do the following exercise after one month (then repeat after three months).

I want you to answer these questions about your spending habits as honestly as you can. They are here to help you understand where and when you shop till you drop. No one else has to see them. Habits become clearer once you really look at the cold hard facts.  Find and write down your three most budget-busting shopping sprees. Whether it was only an hour or a two-day frenzy, record the date, how long the spree lasted, and the total amount that you spent.

1._______________________________________________________


2._______________________________________________________

3._______________________________________________________

Reflect on each one of these sprees by identifying the items that you bought. Were these items planned or unplanned purchases? And were they necessary or unnecessary?

1._______________________________________________________

2._______________________________________________________

3._______________________________________________________

Now that you've listed the items you purchased and addressed whether they were needed, continue on your reality check and see if these items were appropriate purchases or excessive. For example, you may have needed new water glasses, but did you really have to buy a service of twenty? Or did they really need to have the same designer label as your shirt? Did you end up loving your purchases as much as you thought you would in the store (the answer might be yes, and that's okay)? We're working on perspective, so we need to dig even deeper than your receipt pile.