Hello lovelies,Obviously, shopping on a budget is important for all of us at some point. Especially if, like me, you're trying to balance full-time study, part-time work and some semblance of a social life, without asking Mum and Dad for handouts every five seconds. To me shopping on a budget revolves around two main point: shopping well, and knowing where/when to shop. Today's focus: shopping well.
First things first - do you know what things you need, or want in your wardrobe? You can't shop well if you're wandering around like a headless chicken with no idea what you're looking for. These pieces of advice I'm about to give get given time and time again - it's because they're good, not because people like repeating themselves.
1. Know Your Wardrobe: If you want to save money on your clothes shopping you need to know what is already in your wardrobe. That way you don't come home with three new pairs of skinny jeans only to discover that your wardrobe is already full of skinny jeans, and what you really wanted was a pair of wide-leg pants. Keep an inventory (even if it's only in your head) of the kinds of things you have in your closet. Just be aware of the things that you already have, so you don't buy them two or three times over.
2. Know What You Want: If you're heading out on a shopping trip, have at least some idea of what you're heading out to get. We all know that it's fun to bum around the shopping centre, splash cash and head home with bags of stuff we'd never even considered liking - but that's not a good way to shop on a budget. Save that kind of shopping for tax return time, and when you're working to a budget make a list of the things you need or want. This also ties right in with knowing what is already in your wardrobe. Knowing is half the battle - much easier to figure out what you want or need if you know what you already have.
3. Try Things On: Always, always, always try things on. I don't care how long the line is, or how good the clothes look on the rack. Trying things on means that you don't spend a weeks wages on a trenchcoat that makes you look like a midget on a bad day. Many stores have ironclad policies on the return of goods - most that I have worked for won't offer a refund purely because you didn't try something on in the store, and you discovered it doesn't look good (and store credit doesn't really help if you don't like anything else in the store, and have bills to pay). Also, as most of you have probably noticed, sizing differs from store to store. You can never assume that a Size 10 in Target is the same as a Size 10 in Myer - and some stores are using US sizing now, which makes the whole thing harder. Trying things on also helps to establish what suits you, which makes the whole shopping expedition much easier.
4. FORGET ABOUT BRANDS: This I can't stress enough. If you're sending yourself broke so that you can have the latest Chanel bag or Dior sunglasses, then you're a complete frigging idiot. I'll tell you a secret - except for my personal vice brands (Emily the Strange, Paul Frank and Skelanimals) the only place I've bought brand name clothing is from second-hand stores. But you know what the funny thing is? There are clothes from my highschool days that I still wear, and I've sold even more on http://www.ebay.com.au/ when I lost so much weight that they started falling down. Don't get sucked into the idea that only brand name clothing will last you for any length of time. I find that's it's more about taking care of your clothes - follow the care instructions on the label, don't leave them sitting in the sun etc. There's always time for that $4000 coat when you're rich and famous. But for now, why not settle with the chain store knock-off? If you take good care of it, it will last. And besides, we all know you're going to buy a new one next year anyway.
That's about all for shopping well. Now, so that this post doesn't reach epic proportions I'm going to finish up, but it won't be long before Volume 2, which I'm going to focus more on where and when to shop to save money. Hopefully this will be helpful to someone.
Until next time, xo.
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