My computer is broken so I was unable to post last week and will probably not post for the next two weeks! Sorry about the inconvenience loves! Make sure to get some good back to school deals in the meantime and let me know about them in the comments!!
Happy Saving,
L
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Rationalizing: Restraint & Splurging
While I do like to save money, I don't always believe in buying something just because it is a good buy. With bargain hunting must come restraint. Sometimes, I will buy something just because it is cheap and I get home and I never use/wear it. Since I have encountered this problem many times, I have come up with a couple of handy solutions. If you are about to buy something at a great price, think of a few things: 1) If this item were regular price/2x or 3x the sales price, would I still purchase it? If your answer is "no" then you are most likely enticed to buy the item just because of the cheap price. 2) Will I really use/wear this? If it is an item of clothing think of other pieces that it could potentially match or think of potential places where you could wear it. If it is impractical then bow out on the purchase. 3) Do I reaaally LOVE this item? For me, since I LOVE shopping so much, I always ensure that I LOVE an item before I buy it (don't you LOVE when I repeat myself and use caps so much? haha sorry!!). If you truly know that you love it or if you think that you will regret it if you don't buy it then go ahead. Sometimes, I will leave something at the counter on hold, continue my shopping and then return to buy it later if I am still thinking about the item. Finally, make sure you find out about the return policy of sale, clearance, or discounted items... because if you do buy it just because its on sale, at least you may be able to return it if you change your mind once you are home.
On this note of restraint in buying cheap things, lets move on to restraint in buying expensive things. While it is a good quality to have, sometimes expensive items really are worth it. Yes, this is coming out of the mouth of the bargain queen, but I often do splurge on certain things that I know I should splurge on. I used this proposition to sell the expensive stereo systems when I worked at Bose Speakers: would you rather purchase one Bose radio for $500 that will last you a lifetime and give you great quality or would you rather buy 10 $100 radios over the years that continuously break and deliver poor quality music? Maybe that initial splurge may hurt your pocket (or your soul) but in reality, think about the investment that you are making. I always like to think of my expensive purchases as investments and sometimes, I even break down the price-by-wear to make myself feel better. Lets say hypothetically, if I buy a pair of $100 shoes and wear them once a week for a year, I am spending a mere $1.92 per wear, and most likely, I will wear those shoes more often than once a week and have them for much longer than a year. So make sure that you rationalize before you make a purchase, whether a save or a splurge and it will truly be worth the real cost.
Finally, here is a list of items that I don't mind putting some extra money into because I know that I will get a lot of use out of them and often, the more expensive versions deliver better quality than the cheaper versions (not that I'm buying ridiculous designer just for the pretty labels, but just good quality items)
Items to Splurge On:-
Shoes: Nothing like a day in uncomfortable shoes... leather all the way, baby!
-Purses: Not necessarily designer, but just a nice quality purse because I use mine basically everyday until they wear down
-Electronics: My Ipod has lasted longer than 5 cheap MP3 players would have
-Makeup: Eyeshadows not so much but good face makeup makes a world of a difference (no streaks, ladies!)
-Furniture/Matress Pad: I tried buying a cheap mattress pad for college, three simple words: DON'T DO IT!!
-Staple Wardrobe Items: Black pants, trench coat, white button up, black blazer, sturdy pair of heels.. don't skimp on basics that you can get years out of and will never go out of style!
Items to Skimp On:
Accessories: Scarves, headbands & jewelry rotate in and out of my wardrobe daily and are such trendy pieces that I don't like to invest in them... speaking of....
Trendy Pieces: Unlike the wardrobe staples mentioned above, trendy pieces will only be around for awhile so don't invest money in a piece that will end up in the back of your closet in 6 months
Fun Makeup: I find that I play around with eyeshadow and lip gloss, switching them up so much that it just does not make sense for me to put a lot of money into these things like I do with my daily face makeup
Halloween Costumes/Holiday Gear: C'mon... you know you're only going to wear that costume/St. Patty's shirt once (for fear of Facebook photos in which you are caught wearing the same outfit on two different occasions... OH THE HORROR!!) and will most likely end up with beer spilled all over it anyway.. so don't waste your money chicks!
So good luck with restraining yourself, splurging when you should and ensuring that you rationalize before you purchase! Follow these tips and you'll be on your road to fat pockets and a hot wardrobe!
Happy Saving!
L
On this note of restraint in buying cheap things, lets move on to restraint in buying expensive things. While it is a good quality to have, sometimes expensive items really are worth it. Yes, this is coming out of the mouth of the bargain queen, but I often do splurge on certain things that I know I should splurge on. I used this proposition to sell the expensive stereo systems when I worked at Bose Speakers: would you rather purchase one Bose radio for $500 that will last you a lifetime and give you great quality or would you rather buy 10 $100 radios over the years that continuously break and deliver poor quality music? Maybe that initial splurge may hurt your pocket (or your soul) but in reality, think about the investment that you are making. I always like to think of my expensive purchases as investments and sometimes, I even break down the price-by-wear to make myself feel better. Lets say hypothetically, if I buy a pair of $100 shoes and wear them once a week for a year, I am spending a mere $1.92 per wear, and most likely, I will wear those shoes more often than once a week and have them for much longer than a year. So make sure that you rationalize before you make a purchase, whether a save or a splurge and it will truly be worth the real cost.
Finally, here is a list of items that I don't mind putting some extra money into because I know that I will get a lot of use out of them and often, the more expensive versions deliver better quality than the cheaper versions (not that I'm buying ridiculous designer just for the pretty labels, but just good quality items)
Items to Splurge On:-
Shoes: Nothing like a day in uncomfortable shoes... leather all the way, baby!
-Purses: Not necessarily designer, but just a nice quality purse because I use mine basically everyday until they wear down
-Electronics: My Ipod has lasted longer than 5 cheap MP3 players would have
-Makeup: Eyeshadows not so much but good face makeup makes a world of a difference (no streaks, ladies!)
-Furniture/Matress Pad: I tried buying a cheap mattress pad for college, three simple words: DON'T DO IT!!
-Staple Wardrobe Items: Black pants, trench coat, white button up, black blazer, sturdy pair of heels.. don't skimp on basics that you can get years out of and will never go out of style!
Items to Skimp On:
Accessories: Scarves, headbands & jewelry rotate in and out of my wardrobe daily and are such trendy pieces that I don't like to invest in them... speaking of....
Trendy Pieces: Unlike the wardrobe staples mentioned above, trendy pieces will only be around for awhile so don't invest money in a piece that will end up in the back of your closet in 6 months
Fun Makeup: I find that I play around with eyeshadow and lip gloss, switching them up so much that it just does not make sense for me to put a lot of money into these things like I do with my daily face makeup
Halloween Costumes/Holiday Gear: C'mon... you know you're only going to wear that costume/St. Patty's shirt once (for fear of Facebook photos in which you are caught wearing the same outfit on two different occasions... OH THE HORROR!!) and will most likely end up with beer spilled all over it anyway.. so don't waste your money chicks!
So good luck with restraining yourself, splurging when you should and ensuring that you rationalize before you purchase! Follow these tips and you'll be on your road to fat pockets and a hot wardrobe!
Happy Saving!
L
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