I'm a shopaholic who had 85 designer bags and $91K in credit card debt. A month in an RV changed how I think about money.

Zee Gustafson is a 37-year-old fashion and finance content creator and freelance celebrity hair and makeup stylist based in Chicago. She and her husband earn around $400,000 annually, but had accumulated approximately $91,000 in credit card debt by 2026. Her spending habits included an average of $14,000 per month on fashion items she didn't need, such as clothes, luxury goods, and home items.

Gustafson's shopping habits changed when she moved to Bend, Oregon, during the pandemic to be closer to her family. She quickly realized that the slower, outdoorsier lifestyle wasn't for her and that her compulsive shopping had become a coping mechanism for her unhappiness and feelings of inadequacy. She found herself buying designer bags, clothes, jewelry, home goods, and beauty products, accumulating 85 designer bags, including a $12,000 Hermès bag, and drowning in credit card debt close to six figures.

During a month-long RV trip in the summer of 2024, Gustafson was forced to confront her shopping habits. She learned to budget her money more effectively, manage expenses, and prioritize her purchases based on immediate needs rather than emotional triggers. She read a personal-finance book that helped her shift her mindset towards debt as a number she could work through, rather than a reflection of her worth.

Upon returning home, Gustafson began decluttering her closet and finances systematically. She sold items that were no longer needed, donated worn-out clothing, and shared other belongings through local community groups. This process helped her reduce her inventory by at least half, leading to a cleaner living space and a sense of accomplishment.

Despite still having a combined income of $400,000, Gustafson had no savings and was still nearly six figures in debt. To tackle her debt, she used a debt-payoff spreadsheet, focusing on paying off the cards with the highest interest rates first. She allocated extra income towards debt repayment while simultaneously building an emergency fund to prevent future reliance on credit.