1 in 10 U.S. Consumers Fall Into This Credit Card Trap. Here's How to Avoid It

People have different ways of coping with stress and disappointment. For some, soaking in a warm bath or taking a yoga class can be a mood-lifter. For others, consuming four or five chocolate bars in a single sitting will do the trick.

But for many people, retail therapy -- hitting the stores or shopping online and loading up on unplanned, unnecessary purchases -- is what it takes to go from feeling down to feeling content. And if you can afford to indulge in retail therapy, by all means, do so.

Let's say you have plenty of money in your savings account and a $100 purse you buy on a whim spells the difference between moping around or feeling happy for the rest of the weekend. If you can swing that purchase, do it.

The problem is that many people can't afford to engage in retail therapy -- yet they do it anyway. And that could lead to a major pile of credit card debt.

When you can't afford your unplanned buys

Recent data from Debt.com found that many people use retail therapy to cope with life's different stressors. The problem, though, is that around 12% of people buy items they later regret every week and charge those expenses on credit cards.

For most of these people, that's resulted in debt of $1,000 or less. But among those engaging in retail therapy, 16% incurred debts of over $1,000 and up to $5,000, while almost 15% had debt piles of over $5,000 and up to $15,000. Yikes. 

An alternative that won't wreck your finances

Any time you fail to pay off a credit card balance in full, you automatically accrue interest on it -- unless you happen to have a 0% introductory rate on your credit card, in which case you'll get a reprieve for a limited period. 

You might think that carrying, say, a $500 credit card balance forward is no big deal. But if it takes you a year to pay off a $500 balance at an 18% interest rate, you'll lose $50 to interest. That's money you could've spent on something else. And also, that's just a $500 balance. If you rack up a balance 10 times as high, the damage could be severe. 

That's why turning to retail therapy when you're feeling down or stressed may not be the best bet. So instead of doing that, find other ways to cope with sadness or stress. 

Enlist a buddy to join you for a walk, or cook up your favorite meal and help yourself to seconds. You might also decide to curl up in bed with your favorite streaming or book series, and that, too, is a great way to push through a tough week. 

Meanwhile, if you're someone who really relies on retail therapy and can't come to terms with an alternative, maintain a savings account specifically for that purpose. As mentioned earlier, treating yourself to some fun, unplanned purchases really isn't a problem if you can afford to buy them outright without racking up debt, and if those purchases aren't impeding another major goal. 

So if you're someone who just plain likes to shop and tends to do so to cope when life doesn't go your way, don't fight it. Just save for it so you don't have to suffer any negative consequences.