Rewind: Buyer’s Remorse

This episode was originally published on April 14th, 2018.

Buzz Bissinger owns more than 100 pairs of leather pants and over 200 pairs of leather gloves, having spent more than $600,000 on leather goods in the span of three years. Mr. Bissinger has a spending addiction, but when he published his confessional in GQ magazine he was labeled an “obsessive,” a “fancy man,” and a “shopaholic.” Only when he was admitted into rehab did many people understand that he was struggling with a debilitating behavioral addiction.

Spending addictions are similar to alcohol and drug addictions in that they have the power to destroy lives. Unlike with substance abuse issues, however, spending addictions are often minimized and disparaged. Mr. Bissinger joins the Sugars to offer guidance to a letter-writer whose therapist and family don’t take her spending seriously. “When I buy something or think about buying something I try to stop and say, What is really behind this?” advises Mr. Bissinger, adding, “Are you simply feeding shame and fear?”