Spenders Anonymous (SA)

What Is Spenders Anonymous?

Spenders Anonymous (SA) is a peer-support program that follows the Twelve Steps to help people stop compulsive spending and achieve financial stability. Clinically, this behavior is often recognized as a shopping addiction or buying-shopping disorder, a type of behavioral addiction.

SA focuses on the broader goal of achieving “serenity with money,” helping members address the emotional triggers behind their financial habits.

Many people in Spenders Anonymous relate to:

• Running up credit card balances or taking out loans they cannot repay.
• Compulsive shopping sprees followed by intense guilt or shame.
• Hiding receipts, packages, or purchases from loved ones.
• Financial secrecy or lying about money troubles.
• Using shopping as a way to cope with stress, loneliness, or other difficult emotions.

Through shared experiences and practical tools, people in SA learn how to manage their finances responsibly, rebuild trust, and create a more stable, balanced life.

How Does Spenders Anonymous Work?

Spenders Anonymous is built on the idea that recovery happens best in a community. Members come together to talk honestly about their struggles with money and support each other in breaking free from destructive spending habits.

The program follows the Twelve Steps—originally from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)—adapted to focus on the challenges of compulsive spending.

Here’s how the program helps members:

• Meetings: Regular gatherings—in person, online, or by phone—provide a safe place to talk honestly about money struggles without judgment.
• The Twelve Steps: Working the Steps helps individuals explore the emotional, spiritual, and behavioral roots of overspending.
• Sponsorship: Many members choose a sponsor—someone further along in recovery—who can provide personal guidance and accountability.
• Practical Tools: Members often track their spending, create budgets, and practice mindful decision-making to break free from financial chaos.
• Anonymity: Like all 12-Step groups, SA protects the privacy of its members, allowing people to open up freely about their challenges.

The 12 Steps of Spenders Anonymous

Like all 12-step programs, SA adapts the original AA 12 steps to fit the needs of its group.

The 12 steps of Spenders Anonymous are as follows:

1. We admitted we were powerless over spending and money — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral and financial inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal and financial inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive spenders and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Spenders Anonymous vs. Debtors Anonymous

While both fellowships address money problems, they focus on different core issues:

• Spenders Anonymous (SA) is for people who want to stop the act of compulsive spending, regardless of their debt level.
• Debtors Anonymous (DA) is for people who want to stop incurring unsecured debt, which may or may not be related to overspending.

Some people may find it helpful to attend meetings for both fellowships.

Who Can Join Spenders Anonymous?

Spenders Anonymous is open to anyone who wants to stop compulsive spending and change their relationship with money. There are no membership fees or sign-up requirements. You don’t need to meet a specific financial threshold or be in a certain amount of debt to attend.

What matters is the desire to stop unhealthy spending and find a healthier way forward.

Anonymity is a cornerstone of the fellowship. Meetings are confidential spaces where members can speak freely without fear that their struggles will be shared outside the room.

Finding a Spenders Anonymous Meeting

Spenders Anonymous meetings are held in person, online, and by phone, making it easier to connect no matter where you live. Meetings are free, and you can attend as many as you like. Many newcomers start by simply listening until they feel ready to share.

To find a meeting, visit the official Spenders Anonymous website and search the meeting directory. You’ll be able to explore different formats and times to see what fits your schedule best.

Find Support for Compulsive Spending

Struggling with compulsive spending? You don’t have to face it alone. Effective and confidential help is available. You can connect with a qualified therapist through convenient online therapy or speak to someone immediately by calling the free SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

Our Find Treatment Help page has the resources you need to take the first step.

Written by

Jessica Miller

Editorial Director

Jessica Miller is the Editorial Director of Addiction Help. Jessica graduated from the University of South Florida (USF) with an English degree and combines her writing expertise and passion for helping others to deliver reliable information to those impacted by addiction. Informed by her personal journey to recovery and support of loved ones in sobriety, Jessica's empathetic and authentic approach resonates deeply with the Addiction Help community.

Reviewed by

• Fact-Checked
• Editor

Kent S. Hoffman, D.O.

Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer

Kent S. Hoffman, D.O. has been an expert in addiction medicine for more than 15 years. In addition to managing a successful family medical practice, Dr. Hoffman is board certified in addiction medicine by the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine (AOAAM). Dr. Hoffman has successfully treated hundreds of patients battling addiction. Dr. Hoffman is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of AddictionHelp.com and ensures the website’s medical content and messaging quality.