Hi! My name is Edel and I'm a shopaholic!

Shopping is a sin. Or so I used to tell myself. I used to abhor shopping, like it was some kind of a dreaded disease. Back then, whenever my friends would ask me to go to the mall and buy some stuff, I would decline their invitation. I'd tell them I have no money even if I had. It was the same lame excuse I'd use with them until one day when I saw these nice pair of dress in a posh boutique.

I was with friends gallivanting around Mall of Asia when I chanced upon this green, knitted dress that seemed calling on me. It was hanging beautifully in a Kamiseta boutique. I stopped walking and my friends took notice. I stepped inside the boutique and told them that I am buying it, to their utter surprise. They knew I hate shopping especially at expensive boutiques and Kamiseta was one of them. But I just couldn't resist the urge. Without thinking twice, I grab the dress with much gusto and took it to the counter. The cashier smiled at me and I smiled back. When I opened my wallet, I couldn't find my credit card. My cash wasn't enough and that was when the problem started.

I felt my knees were trembling, I became so emotional at that point. What if someone takes the dress from me and buy it? What will I do? I looked for my friends to ask for some help but they were nowhere to be found. I didn't know what to do.I tried to think hard when suddenly, I thought of a solution. With shaking hands, I dialed my boyfriend's number and asked him to come to the the boutique ASAP. He was on the other side of the mall, checking out gadgets. I excused myself from the cashier and stood at a corner with the dress. I was anxious.

After a few minutes, my boyfriend came up to me looking anxious, too and asked me what had happened. I told him that I wanted to buy the dress I was holding but my cash wasn't enough so I'd have to borrow his credit card. He felt relieved. He thought something bad had happened to me. I told him that I wanted the dress badly. Just like my friends, he was shocked,too. He didn't expect to see me buying an expensive dress that could buy me a dozen new tops from Divisoria. Being the generous boyfriend that he is,he didn't lend me his credit card and instead, paid for the dress himself. Little did he know that it would be the beginning of my journey into the wonderful world of shopping, from which he'd get a series of headaches later on. Not because I'd borrow his credit card more often (I have two credit cards now!) but because he'd have to bear the agony of having to accompany me shopping.

Since that very day, it has been sort of a hobby for me to peruse through shops looking for great fashion finds, especially when there are big sales and promos offered in malls. I also realized that shopping is therapeutic so I must do it often.

Let's keep in mind that shopping isn't bad as long as we know our limits. It's very important that we live by our means and never spend the money which we haven't earned yet.

Yes, you can say I'm a shopaholic. And I'm proud of it.

My love for shopping continues and is now documented in my blog called Budget Shopping Galore.

Anyway, did you now that Sophie Kinsella's Confession of a Shopaholic novel has now a film adaptation with Isla Fisher as our beloved Rebecca Bloomwood?

Catch "Confessions of a Shopaholic" in Cinemas on February 18, 2009!