I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas Day, whatever that may entail! I had a chilled day spent with family, eating good food and watching Christmas movies (my favourite thing ever!) I was planning on writing a guide to the boxing day sales, but I’ll leave that to other content creators, but feel free to use this a guide to make wise purchases. Ever since I started selling some of my items on my Depop shop and donating more to charity, I’ve become a lot more conscious about the things that I buy. When I have been looking through my wardrobe for things that I wanted to sell or donate, I came across quite a few items that had either never been worn and still had tags on or that I just didn’t get the wear out of and ended up being a complete waste of money. As nice as it is to be able to rehome pieces from your wardrobe and raise money for charity at the same time, it doesn’t feel great knowing there are items you’ve bought that never see the light of day. Nowadays I go by a few pointers as well as a handful of style rules when it comes to making wise and justified purchases.
| DON’T IMPULSE BUY
This is the ultimate way to go off the rails when it comes to purchasing. It’s something that is so easy to do and I’m sure we’re all guilty of doing it. By not impulse buying you won’t end up with items that, if you have thought about it longer, you wouldn’t have bought. A little incentive to not impulse buy, is to wait and then really think about all the things you want to purchase, so that you can go out one day and have a shopping spree and buy it all at once without feeling guilty as well as ending up with things you actually want!
| ONE IN ONE OUT SYSTEM
By adopting a one in one out system, you’ll not only prevent over-filling your wardrobe/closet, but in turn, you will also be a lot more controlled. If you really want that knitted jumper, then you need to get rid of an item in your wardrobe first. You can sell, give it to charity or a friend or family member. If for example, you sell your item for £15, but the item you want to purchase is £40, you’re technically only spending £25 and again it justifies your purchase whilst saving you some money.
| PROMOTIONAL CODES & DISCOUNTS
Whenever I’m shopping, whether it’s online or in store, I always check to see if there’s a cheeky promotional code. If you’re a student, you have the God-given gift of Uni Days and Student Beans, which are great for both in store and online, but o2 priority is also good for the odd freebie here and there. Loyalty cards are also really good, as it often doesn’t require any extra effort, yet you get to reap the rewards. For example Boots advantage cards, in which you’re already purchasing from there and after some time you will have acquired some points and will be able to purchase something with those points.
| CREATE A BUDGET & SHOPPING LIST
If you create a budget, you will know what you can, and more importantly, what you cannot afford. It’s also a lot easier when you’re aware of your funds and having and sticking to a budget somewhat keeps you in check. Having a shopping list is also very helpful and prevents you from getting sidetracked. It’s good to have a rough idea of what you’re looking for as it keeps you more focused on what you went there for and therefore, you don’t end up looking at other things.
| SHOP ALONE
I used to like shopping with a couple of friends, I thought it was nice to get a second or third opinion on something that you’re not too sure of. However the fact of the matter is, that if you’re not one 100% sure that you love something, it doesn’t matter whether other people do, because it’s about how you feel in something. Shopping alone also means that you only go into the shops that you want and not your friends who want to go into Topshop and then you end up buying loads of items that you wouldn’t have bought had you have been on your own.
| SALE
In lieu of the infamous boxing day sales, be careful! Don’t just purchase something only because it’s in sale. Only buy something if you would purchase it at full price. There’s no better satisfaction than seeing something that you really like and want – leaving it in the store, and then a few months or even weeks later, it’s in sale!
| WILL YOU LIKE IT IN 6 MONTHS TIME?
This is particularly important if you’re thinking about investing a lot of money into a higher end piece. A lot of seasonal items are more trendy pieces. I personally don’t shop by trends, I just buy what I like – which tends to be more simple and timeless pieces. There are a couple of things to think about. Do you like it only because it’s currently on trend? Will you like it in 6 months time? There’s no point in spending lots of money on something you’re only going to like for a few weeks and wear a couple of times.
What are your tactics to purchasing wisely?
