Spending problems after being triggered

I am incredibly stingy about non-essential purchases, but once a year I go on a "spree" buying stupidly cheap rings from online retailers.

literally, my spending limit is $5 per ring. Each year I pick a stone: ruby, garnet, tanzanite, mystic topaz, etc... then find every ring under $5 including shipping, on multiple sites and hunt down the ones I like best by the picture.

This summer I got over 30 rings for a grand total of about $20.

I still get the rush of opening many packages, and the rings being so cheap it it exciting to see about half of them look really nice.

Ones I don't like I use as a guideline to match the colour to my dyework hobby (mostly tiedye) and then when I sell a ring-inspired shirt, I package up the ring on a cheap necklace chain as a little extra "thank you for buying" gift.

That way, my "spending spree" turns into something useful... and I wear the rings. I would be inconsolable if I lost my wedding or engagement ring. The ring I am wearing right this moment cost me two dollars including shipping; if I lose it down a sewer drain or a raccoon runs of with it or some other typically awful thing, I don't get upset: the ring was two dollars

I knew a guy who used to shop a similar way with nuts, bolts, and screws when he felt bad. He said "You can never have enough odd hardwear".

A handful of random screws and bolts is only a few bucks as well.

/r/CPTSD Thread