The Dreaded Fashion Budget

Budgeting is something no one likes but is always essential to the thrifty fashionista. No matter how rich or poor you are, creating a fashion budget should be a priority. Here are some easy tips for creating a basic fashion budget:

The "Essentials" List

Make a list of the items you most need to the pieces you least want. The pieces you need are at the top of your list and should be wardrobe essentials and versatile items that can be worn for multiple occasions, such as a spring/fall jacket, basic pencil skirt, or white dress shirt/blouse. Then make your way down the list to the things you don't necessary need but want like a feather skirt or new pair of heels. By creating a list like this you can spend your money in the most effective way possible. Save for the pieces at the top of your list before spending money on the less important pieces. 

The Mental Budget

Creating a mental budget means that before you make it to a store, figure out how much you want to spend, and on what items. For instance, lets say you go to a store looking for a jacket. You create a mental budget of $40 and intend to find a jacket under that price. The downfall of this tip is that most people start off with good intentions of not going over budget, but after finding one they absolutely love they tend to spend more. There are two solutions to this problem:

1. Do not even consider anything over your budget. Even if you find an item you absolutely love that is over budget, I can guarantee in most cases you can find a similar style for cheaper. You must have the will power to MOVE ON.

2. The second is a more practical to the issue of going over budget. If you find an item you feel that you NEED and is absolutely perfect (which happens to me often), go ahead and purchase it. BUT, plan ahead. Now that you have made the decision to go over budget, you need to make sacrifices else where, such as not buying your morning coffee for a week or not buying a luxury item that you want. Mentally think of what you can sacrifice BEFORE you make the purchase though. Otherwise you will overspend, and then realize you can't make any sacrifices elsewhere.

Comparative Shopping

Do your research! Research is the key to being a thrifty shopper. Know how much something should cost before you buy it, a very simple concept. When trying to find a specific type of item go to a variety of store websites and compare the costs. Then when you go to purchase the item while out shopping, you can know if something is over priced or a good deal. The uninformed shopper is an over budget shopper.

Creating a Savings Goal

A big complaint I hear from people is that they never have enough money to go shopping. Well I would say that most of the time that is not true. Almost everyone has the ability to put at least some money aside. This concept comes from kids who save money in piggy banks. Simply put any left over money aside until you save enough for major purchase. It may be difficult to save, but either hide the money or trust it to a family member or close friend to help prevent you from spending the money until you save enough for the item you originally intended to buy.