I recently moved and in the process I discovered that I am F.A.T. – Yes, I have been known to frivolously acquire things.

For instance, why do I need to go menus to every restaurant in town, when I have Urbanspoon, Siri and a web browser? Or how many gadgets and gizmos does one need to listen to music with? And when i got to packing up my bathroom, I felt like I was cleaning out the supply closet at Sephora. Not to mention in my closet, I had enough shoes for a college football team.

Don’t act like you don’t know what I am talking about – whether you buy an “extra one” when there is no need or more than one flavor or color. Most all if us our guilty of being F.A.T.

So where does this come from? Why does it happen? How do we stop the cycle? There has to be a solution other than shopping til you drop, the store closing, running out of cash in the pocket of your designer jeans or maxing out your credit card.

Shortly after realizing I was F.A.T. the solution began to appear in my everyday life. For instance . . .

I was at the mall and before making that can’t live without purchase for my professional wardrobe, I paused to ask myself “do I really need this?” Sure enough I did not and enjoyed the rest of my day less one new pair of slacks. In fact, this week the day I wore my “old” suit I had a great day and landed a rather large contract.

This past weekend at the farmers market, I found myself consciously asking myself how much food would I actually consumer this week before my next trip to the farmers market and proceeded to purchase just enough to be satisfied. This is a lot better than having to empty my fridge ever couple weeks with all the spoiled, rotten foods that I purchased because I did not take the time to ask myself if I was being F.A.T.

So these are some if my steps to reduce overconsumption and overindulgence. What small steps can you take in your personal and professional life to stop being so F.A.T.?