Women may be able to blame impulse buys and extravagant shopping on their time of the month
Updated : Apr 9, 2009
In the 10 days before their periods began, women were more likely to go on a spending spree, a study found.
Psychologists believe shopping could be a way for premenstrual women to deal with the negative emotions created by their hormonal changes.
Professor Karen Pine will present her work to a British Psychological Society meeting in Brighton later this week.
She asked 443 women aged 18 to 50 about their spending habits.
Almost two-thirds of the 153 women studied who were in the later stages of their menstrual cycle - known as the luteal phase - admitted they had bought something on an impulse and more than half said they had overspent by more than £25.
A handful of the women said they had overspent by more than £250. And many felt remorse later.
Professor Pine, of the University of Hertfordshire, said: "Spending was less controlled, more impulsive and more excessive for women in the luteal phase.
"The spending behaviour tends to be a reaction to intense emotions. They are feeling stressed or depressed and are more likely to go shopping to cheer themselves up and using it to regulate their emotions."
Very Happy Pig spouse has regularly used that time of the month as an excuse for periods of short temper and aggression as well as a reason to ensure nights are only spent sleeping. Is Very happy Pig now to believe that the infamous “time of the month” will be a viable excuse for an increased credit card bill?
