I think that in order to stop yourself from impulse buying, you've got to understand what triggers you to buy impulsively, and learn to stay away from the triggers altogether and, if you can't do that, reduce your exposure to them. For example, if going to a car show is a trigger for you, you need to stop going to car shows. You also need to understand why you're making these large impulsive purchases. Are you trying to portray a particular kind of an image? Are you making these purchases as a way to compensate for something you lack? It would be worthwhile to explore this with someone you trust.

You say you've maintained good credit and you're never late on payments, but I'm assuming from your letter that you're in some sort of debt. If that is the case, are you continuing to use credit? Sometimes, when people take a look at what their purchases are actually costing them, by plugging their outstanding debt, interest rate, and monthly payments into a calculator that will do that figuring for them (available at http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/MinPayment.asp), it helps break through some of the denial that almost always accompanies compulsive spending.

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