Shopping for clothes can be one of life’s greatest pleasures. For the fashion-forward woman especially, few activities can elicit more joy. Whether you like to do yours in person or online, nothing beats the pure serotonin jolt of falling in love at first sight with a garment and coming away with it as your own.
If you aren’t careful, though, even only occasionally shopping for clothes can get very expensive—very fast. And in this economy where every dollar you manage to save counts, it’s never a bad idea to think of ways to bring your spending down to a minimum. Here are a few tips on how to still indulge your fashion habit without completely emptying your bank account.
Put Your Money Towards Quality Basics
Do you ever think about how much money you spend on foundational pieces? These refer to the basics in your wardrobe that you find yourself reaching for again and again, such as denim jeans and shorts, t-shirts, women’s leggings, sweatpants, and so on. If you’re a savvy dresser, you know that you can go a long way even if you only stock your wardrobe exclusively with these. However, because they see a lot of wear, they also tend to be the first to look threadbare and shabby. This tends to happen much faster if you choose basics that aren’t constructed well, or ones that are made with lower quality materials. These options may seem more reasonably priced at first, but the cost can add up if you have to keep replacing them. This cycle of buying cheap clothes only to toss them out later also contributes to a mounting global waste problem and simply isn’t the most ecologically sound practice.
When you do the math, you’ll find that you can save more money by being mindful with your purchases and choosing higher quality garments. Though they may be more expensive up front, they’re made better and will last longer than their fast fashion counterparts. Go for classic yet versatile pieces for maximum versatility, and you shouldn’t need to keep acquiring new clothes for a couple of years, at least.
Make It Harder to Spend
Smart devices are undoubtedly one of the greatest innovations to have come out of the 21st century. Over half the world’s population now has on-demand access to the world wide web at their fingertips, giving them the ability to obtain information, stay in touch with loved ones, and have various experiences. Unfortunately, use of the internet does come at a cost. Most people online have surrendered personal details about themselves to the sites that they frequently use, and those sites, in turn, pass that information along to businesses for profit. This allows your favorite social media, entertainment, and even search engine sites to stay up and continue to operate, but it also creates an online environment where companies have an almost uncanny ability to predict your likes and dislikes, making it easier to advertise to you directly.
For this reason, there are few things easier to do online than spend money. Brands have simplified the process so much that it takes little more than a couple of taps for someone to see a product ad while they’re scrolling through a site and buy it. If you’re serious about spending less money shopping, though, there are a few methods that you can employ.
Installing a good ad-blocker can help hide the ads and sponsored posts that litter your online spaces. You can also try deleting any shopping apps that you have installed on your smartphone or tablet, or at least turn off notifications for them so that they can’t keep triggering the impulse to shop. Another good tip is to delete your credit card information from these shopping sites or from your browser altogether. This creates an additional obstacle of sorts that you’ll have to clear before you can buy anything, hopefully giving you time to reconsider your decision. Finally, unsubscribe from all of the promotional emails that you receive from brands. These are also designed to entice you to do some shopping, and unsubscribing eliminates those reminders.
Start Shopping Out of Season
Prices on clothes tend to fluctuate as seasons come and go. They’re dictated by the law of supply and demand: outerwear is more expensive during the colder months because more people are buying them then; the same goes for lighter pieces when it’s warmer. Game the system by using it against itself and shopping for your clothes out-of-season. Chances are, you’ll find better deals on them, often at substantial markdowns.
It’s also a good idea to keep an eye out for sales, which can happen periodically. Shops usually want to clear space on their shelves for newer stock when a new season is approaching. This means that, if you have a little patience, you may be able to snag amazing pieces you’ve had your eye on for a while, but at slashed prices.
Cutting down on your fashion habit doesn’t just translate into instant savings. It’s also better for the planet, and it could even be beneficial to you mentally. It can help minimize decision fatigue and make it easier to get dressed in the morning.