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You desperately want to go shopping and bring back a massive haul of new clothes, but you know that would decimate your budget. You just can’t afford to do it.
So, is there a way that you can stay within your budget and get a bunch of stylish clothes? There are actually four of them.
1. Check Your Closet
Before you lament that you have nothing to wear, empty out your closet and take a look at everything you have. You can even download closet organizing apps to take inventory of all of your items and see how to mix and match them in a different way. You might be surprised by some of the incredible outfits that you already have.
Or you can get creative and refresh some of your old clothes. Tie-dye your white shirts. Use bleach markers to add patterns on your dark jeans. Shorten the hemline on long skirts and dresses. Turn a shrinking t-shirt into a crop top. You can make these items look brand-new.
2. Go Thrifting
If you’re not happy with the items in your closet, you should go thrifting. The thrift store is an incredible spot for finding “new” clothes that are well within your budget.
3. Do a Clothing Swap
Do you think your friends have great style? Then, you should organize a clothing swap at your place and exchange pieces. It’s a great way to get rid of the clothes you don’t wear anymore and snag items that you’ve always envied from your friends.
4. Rent Pricy Items
Sometimes, you have no choice but to dress up. You can’t show up at a wedding in a cheap outfit — but you can’t afford to shell out a bunch of money on an outfit that you might only wear once.
So, what can you do? You can rent pricier clothes instead of buying them. Check out websites like Style Lend, Rent the Runway, Glam Corner and Haverdash to access high-end outfits on a budget.
Never Blow Your Budget on Clothes
It’s never a good idea to blow your budget on clothes. You could put yourself in a tricky financial situation where you can’t pay your bills on time. And even if you can just manage to pay your bills, you might find that you can’t afford any urgent expenses that come your way.
Ideally, you should have enough savings to cover small emergencies like car repairs or plumbing fixes right away. If your shopping habits have drained your savings, you can request a quick personal loan to help you cover an emergency expense. If you’re approved for the loan, you can use the funds to handle the urgent problem and move forward.
You should only use personal loans for emergencies. They’re not meant to cover non-essential expenses, like shopping sprees.
Recover from a Bad Spree
If you’ve gone too far with your spending, these are some things that you can do to get your finances back in order:
If you still have receipts and tags on items, return them. See whether you can get cashback instead of store credit.
If you can get store credit back in the form of a gift card, you can sell that gift card online.
If it’s too late for returns, you can easily sell your clothes online and collect a good profit.
You don’t have to strain your finances every time you go shopping. There are great ways to get new clothes while staying on budget!
