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What Type Of Shopper Are You?

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By MICHELLE SINGLETARY Washington Post Writer's Group

Published: December 2, 2007

I try to provide advice to keep people from plunging into debt during the season of shopping madness.

But maybe I won't need to fuss too much this holiday. There's enough troubling economic news to help some consumers avoid overspending, right?

Let's see, foreclosures are up. Gas prices are up. Bankruptcies, too. In the first three quarters, bankruptcy filings by individuals or households with consumer debt increased 40 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Auto loan delinquencies were up slightly in the past two months, according to an analyst for Lehman Brothers.

Oh, yeah, let's not forget the stock market.

Share prices have taken a dive many times in the past few weeks, and investors are skittish. Worried about their investment portfolios, consumers are less likely to spend frivolously.

Home values are down, preventing many homeowners from refinancing as they did in past years. This means they can't pull out cash to rescue themselves from their spending sprees. Falling home prices have put one-third of the United States in or near a recession, analysts for Goldman Sachs wrote in a recent report.

Taken together, all this bad economic news is likely to cause consumers to pull back on their holiday spending. Thirty-five percent of consumers said they plan to spend less than last year, according to the results of the eighth annual holiday spending survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America and the Credit Union National Association.

At least that's what they say.

The Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies has come up with an interesting way to help consumers curtail their spending. The association suggests you identify your shopping style. And here are the shopping styles it describes:

The plan-ahead shopper: If you are a plan-ahead shopper, you may get the deed done well before Halloween. But if you're not careful, you could still overspend. Because you are shopping all year long, you may not be keeping an account of what you're spending. I've also known advance shoppers to forget they purchased something and end up buying for someone again because they hid the present too well.

If you like to buy throughout the year, keep a little book listing the stashed gifts you've bought. Also, tuck your holiday budget inside the spending dairy so you can keep track of what you've spent.

The impulse shopper and inspirational shopper: Impulse shoppers buy on whim. Inspirational shoppers let a good sale guide them to the right gift. Both often can't be bothered with a budget. If you fit either of these categories, put away the credit cards and just use cash. When the money is gone, stop shopping.

The nonshopper: Nonshoppers often get so frustrated with the whole shopping experience they just buy whatever they see first regardless of price. One word: Internet. Shopping online is so easy. No lines. No crowds. Just be careful you shop early enough and lump your purchases together to save on shipping costs.

Last-minute shopper: I can totally identify with this shopper. I hate shopping so I put it off as long as possible. But your procrastination can make you desperate. In your desperation, you end up busting your holiday budget because you don't have the time or patience to comparison shop. Two words: gift cards.

And if all the above advice and economic data don't work to temper your spending, think about this: "We often see an increase in clients after the first of the year because of poor holiday financial planning," said David Jones, president of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.

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