Shopping While Traveling: When Much is Too Much

January 15th, 2009 → by Erica Johansson

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I recently heard about Dubai Shopping Festival. From today, January 15th, until February 15th the festival will attract around 2 million visitors.

As I read the intro on the website, “Dubai is currently the hot place to shop, and the best time for shopaholics is during the huge, sprawling Dubai Shopping Festival. Reductions are offered across a vast range of must-haves…”, it hit me how much time and money I’ve spent on shopping while traveling.

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Once I left Sweden after graduating, my weakness for shopping escalated — without me even being aware of how irresponsible I was to let my  savings, money gifts, and earnings run through my fingers. During a two week’s stay in New York shortly after I turned 19, I had to buy a whole new suitcase before our departure because all my new clothes and shoes didn’t fit in my old backpack.

Whenever I spent time in a new city — with friends or on my own — I found shopping very hard to resist, from streetwear stores in Grenoble and Les Galeries Lafayette in Paris, to Bahnhofsstrasse and Niederdorf’s clothing shops in Zurich, Rue du Marche in Geneva and Oxford Street in London. I can’t even remember any city I’ve visited without buying at least something.

I’m not proud to admit I was a shopaholic (i.e. a compulsive shopper who spends beyond his or her means and uses shopping as a way to feel better through temporary highs), but my phase of impulsive purchases taught me something. Even though I still love shopping, there’s way more to life than material possesions, and I much rather collect experiences than the latest jeans, dresses, or shoes. Whenever I’ve shopped during the last 15 months or so (hardly ever, excluding window shopping) I’ve made a conscious effort to think before buying. Do I really need another pair of shoes/jeans? Will I even wear this shirt/top/skirt more than once or twice? Can I afford it? Would I rather put my money on something else?

Choosing quality instead of quantity is better in the long run, and quality doesn’t necessarily equal expensive. It’s more about being conscious of how what you buy while traveling — clothes, shoes, furniture, art, handicrafts, or souvenirs — affect yourself, other people, and the environment.

Looking back I feel incredibly selfish for how much I’ve wasted, money I could have used to something better. My reckless spending is by far the biggest mistake I’ve done, but as an eternal optimist I can’t do anything else than believe there’s a reason for everything and that this is the best thing that could have happened. Somehow.

Possibly related posts:

  1. Photographer’s Christmas Shopping List
  2. Luxury Shopping in Paris
  3. Go Shopping in True British Style
  4. Shopping Tips: Beautiful Bikinis
  5. Responsible Shopping