Are Credit Cards Addictive?

The Great Recession has many people pinching pennies, cancelling ski vacations and squirreling money away in emergency funds. But the fact is that despite high unemployment, shrinking retirement accounts and the collapse of the housing market, many of us are still buying stuff with our credit cards. Lots of stuff.

The nation's credit card debt now tops $800 billion--or about $9,000 per household with a credit card. And although the Federal Reserve Bank reports that the number of credit card accounts has declined since 2008, we're still putting more than $1.9 trillion a year on our credit cards.

What's driving it? Well, it could be a sign that the economy is improving and people are showing a willingness to spend again. That's how some economists see it.

It could also be that people are turning to their credit cards to make ends meet, and that doesn't bode well for them or the economy. According to the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, about 40 percent of Americans say they are living beyond their means.

But recent research suggests that rampant credit card use could be a sign of much more complex issues. And we're not talking about economic issues. We're talking about psychological issues.

The Emotions of Shopping

A study by Dr. Marsha Richens, a business professor at the University of Missouri, found that many people who overuse their credit cards and accumulate massive amounts of credit card debt are often buying things for emotional reasons. They hope that the things they are buying will make them happier, more popular or better equipped to succeed in life.

Richins said that some credit card overusers believe that their purchases can deliver a magical transformation in their lives. Unfortunately, those changes are often fleeting, and when they quickly fade, the shoppers find themselves out on another spree. Sort of like a drug addict looking for another fix.

"For many of the people we studied who overuse their credit cards, making purchases was exciting. When they talk about buying things, their faces light up," Richins said. "These were people who expect magic to happen to them when they buy things."

Suffering From "Debtors' Disease"

Carol, a costume designer in Portland, Ore., knows that feeling well. While living in Southern California, she racked up more than $20,000 in credit card debt before she realized she was spending so much simply because it made her feel good.

"I had a compulsion," said Carol, whose last name is being withheld because she participates in a group called Debtors Anonymous, which fiercely protects its members' identifies. "There was something inside me--this little attitude--that said I could have whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. I call it the debtors disease."

In Carol's case, buying things with her credit card gave her a sense of great self-worth. She says she felt "like an adult, like a real business person."

What People Get Out of Buying

That attitude is similar to what Richins found in studying people who overuse their credit cards. She found there were four types of transformations people expected:

-Self improvement, such as the woman who believed spending money on cosmetic dental work would make her more confident and popular.

-Improved relationships, such as the father who was certain buying a built-in swimming pool would improve his relationship with his daughter.

-A newfound sense of adventure--what Richins calls "hedonic transformation"--such as the expectation of wild fun that might come from buying an ATV or a sailboat

-Greater effectiveness, which is what some buyers might expect from buying an expensive new computer tablet or even a new car.

Richins' research is groundbreaking in that it scientifically documents how credit card overusers actually have different beliefs about the products they buy than people who stay within their budget. But it's not as though the emotional urges of credit card users is news to the people who market credit cards.

"The ads you see all but promise the kind of transformations that people are looking for," Richins said. "They show the father taking his son to the baseball game and buying food and souvenirs and they add up the cost of everything and then tell you that, sure, those things cost money but the improved relationship you'll have with your son is priceless. They are appealing directly to the type of person who tends to overuse their credit card."

Hard-Wired to Love New Things

Richins has been studying materialism for more than two decades, and she believes humans are "hard-wired" to want new things that make life better. Primitive people who had better tools survived, so they passed along an innate sense of attraction to things that make survival--life--easier.

Most people, though, come to realize that some tools are important and other tools are just a waste of money. They learn that some tools won't make them happier, or more popular or closer to loved ones. Other people don't make that realization.

"Wanting new things isn't a bad thing," she says, "but when stuff owns us instead of the other way around, there's a problem."

Where to Get Help

Carol learned that the hard way. It took her 11 years after she cut up her credit cards to pay off all the debt she had accumulated. She went to a lot of sessions of Debtors Anonymous, which is a 12-step program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous in which participants look to a spiritual power to help control their damaging tendencies. She still goes, and recommends people who want help go to www.debtorsanonymous.org and type in their ZIP code to find a meeting near them.

And until that starts to work, she tells people to put their credit cards in a plastic bag filled with water and put the bag in the freezer. Next time you want to put something on your card, you'll have to wait until it thaws--and that might be just enough time to think it over and realize you don't really need to buy that thing after all.

The original article can be found at CardRatings.com:Are credit cards addictive?

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