In 2022 things are, from a financial perspective, rather shaky for most of us. Regardless of where you live, it’s likely that the amount of disposable income you have isn’t as much as it once was.
That means tightening your belt. There are some aspects of our lives that will be impacted by our change of approach to the luxuries in life, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still do the things you enjoy and bring you pleasure.
For instance, if you are a fashionista who wants to stay ahead of the trending curve, there are many ways to adjust your behavior so that you can have your cake and eat it. In order to help you through the maze, we’ve come up with a useful six-point plan to help you in your endeavors.
Have a Budget, Stick to It
The best way to make sure you don’t overspend is to be more prudent with your shopping efforts. Set yourself a budget and stick to it. In many ways, that may sound easier said than done, but in many ways, the act of setting a budget can help you find bargains you never considered before.
By working to a plan, you’d be amazed at how defined your actions can be, which will help you manage your entire operation better.
Fill Up On Your Online Shopping Carts
Shopping online is the best way to keep costs down because, overall, whatever you buy in the high street can be purchased online for less. This is chiefly due to the fact that online stores don’t have the overheads to worry about, and of course, you can shop around until you find an item at a price that suits you.
Another great way to save money, and focus your efforts, is to shop around and fill up the relevant shopping carts with all the clothes and accessories that really catch your eye, fill it up as much as you like. Then, and this is the key element, log out and leave the computer or mobile device.
Return to the cart in a day or two and look again at what you wanted; you’ll be surprised that you’ll have a more dispassionate way of considering these items over time. The pieces you were absolutely desperate to have on Monday by Wednesday may feel like a mistake.
This approach works well and also gives you the opportunity to really get a good idea of your own tastes and styles. In other words, when you return to the cart and see those gold ballet pumps, you’ll know that you’ll never wear them in a lifetime.
Make Accessories The Focus Of Your Style Decisions
Too often, we look to overcompensate when looking to boost our ensemble options when it really doesn’t need to be a case of reinventing the wheel. Make more use of what you have and start to plan out what goes with what.
One great way of doing this is to alter your focus so that accessories play a more integral part in your day-to-day outfit choices. For instance, a custom necklace for men can be used to give a tired look something of a lift. There are almost certainly items of clothing in your closet that you don’t wear so much these days, but when paired with a new item of jewelry or a brand new bag, belt, or boots, it suddenly gives it a new lease of life.
Shop at Second Hand Stores
We all like to shop, and when we do it in person and not online, there is definitely more of a buzz, but one way to maximize that positive energy and the feel-good factor is to check out second-hand stores and thrift stores.
Make the object of the shopping exercise something akin to treasure hunting. By checking out what’s available in these often eccentric environments, you never know what you might find.
Additionally, you’ll spend less, and you may well notice that the goods you pick up have a far better shelf life than what you might find in your local outlet store or mall.
Avoid Fast Fashion
Somewhere along the line, clothing became something of a cheap commodity. Now you can get a lot of clothing for dirt-cheap prices, but there is a catch. It’s poorly made, and let’s not even get started on the environmental and societal issues that fast fashion creates.
These items are very inexpensive because stores expect you to buy them just because they don’t cost very much, and therefore you are buying items for the sake of it, and then you are likely to spend more.
Far too often, people are buying clothes and all types of accessories and never even wearing them; it’s similar to the way we might buy food that we don’t use, only they don’t go moldy in your fridge and you, therefore probably don’t consider the implications of the purchases you are making.
Make a List
On the subject of shopping for food, why not treat your fashion spending in a similar way?
Make a list of what you need and even what you want, then stick to what you list and maybe even rethink what you come up with. Just the whole process of taking a second thought, much like with the shopping cart hack, can make you think more clearly about your motivations and actions.
These hints and tips are not intended to be a buzz kill. They are not designed to take the joy out of shopping, and let’s face it, we all love shopping; it’s just a case of coming at the exercise from a different perspective, one that you’ll find has some very real tangible benefits.
