Simple and Practical Ways To Save Money On Clothing
This article is posted under Money Saving Tips.
Clothing is one of life’s basic necessities. But for many of us, it is also one of our biggest expenditures. This is true specially if you’re working in the corporate world or doing a job in public relations or in the fashion industry. In these professional and social environments, how we physically present ourselves are often as important as our personal skills.
Furthermore, this is just for ourselves because if you have children, then your clothing bills are probably sky-high as kids tend to outgrow their clothes fast.
So how are you when it comes to clothes? Do you keep a tab on your clothing expenditures and limit your spending within a regular budget?
If not, then I suggest that you do because this is one of the best ways you can save money. Below are some simple and practical tips you can follow to lessen your expenses on clothing. I hope you’ll find them helpful, informative and interesting.
Buying Clothes
- Plan your purchases and avoid impulse buying. Have a monthly budget and stick to it.
- Buy classic style clothing and neutral colors that can be worn in many occasions and seasons.
- Choose versatile clothing that can be paired with several outfits in your wardrobe.
- For clothing that you frequently wear, such as everyday office attires, invest in high quality materials because they last longer.
- Avoid buying trendy clothing or if you really must, only purchase one or two. There’s really no need to buy five hoodies and ten emo scarves, believe me.
- Buy clothes that fit. Don’t buy the wrong size just because it’s fabulous or it’s on sale.
- Don’t purchase clothes and hope they’ll fit when you finally lose weight. Treat yourself to new couture after you shed the pounds.
- Shop at discount, surplus and outlet stores. There are “diamonds in the rough” in these places selling at bargain prices. (Learn to love the ukay-ukay
) - Clothes rarely grow to your liking. So if you’re not sure if you like it, don’t buy it.
- Always remember to haggle if the place allows it. In the mall, try to ask if they offer discounts for the item you want or when it will go on sale.
Frugal Fashion
- Even with plain and simple clothes, you can stand out by wearing inexpensive accessories from bazaars and tiangges.
- Use your creativity to bring ruined and old clothes back to life. A friend of mine accidentally bore a cigarette hole on his favorite shirt. He went to a tailor and asked him to sew a simple pattern around it. By incorporating the hole into the design, the small accident became a cool accent.
- Simple and basic clothes such as polos are usually cheaper when tailor-made. Buy some fabrics and ask your local tailor or dress shop to make you that one-of-a-kind couture. Moreover, consider having your old oversized clothes adjusted to fit again.
- Wear an apron when cooking and work clothes when doing messy chores to avoid ruining your nice clothes. Also, eat carefully and use a table napkin when possible.
- Stay in shape. Furthermore, sell clothes that don’t fit or you don’t wear anymore. Donate them to charity for good karma.
Proper Care
- Read the labels and be aware of special care instructions for your clothes. Always remember to separate colors when washing.
- Use fabric conditioners to lessen the need for ironing. Your clothes will be softer and nicer and you’ll save on electricity.
- Furthermore, using a dryer wears out clothing materials more quickly so if you have the space, let your clothes hang dry. And again, you get to save on electricity on this.
- Change as soon as you get home. Wear old clothing or pambahay around the house to preserve your “going out” clothes. Don’t let your kids play in their school uniforms at home.
- Treat stains quickly so they don’t set and ruin your clothing.
- Properly store special and seasonal clothing such as barong, evening gowns, Halloween costumes, winter jackets and others.
Final Tips
- Take an inventory of everything you have. This will help you know what you need and what you have too much of. This is also a good way to find those “lost” shirts.
- If it doesn’t smell or isn’t dirty, hang and air out clothes worn for only a few hours and wear it again on another occasion.
- Trade clothing with friends, it can be fun. You’ll get rid of items that you’ve grown tired of wearing and get something “new” in return.
Can you add more to this list? Please share them below as a comment. Also, if you liked this post, then please share it in StumbleUpon so others can read it.
Lastly, if you want to receive more simple and practical money saving tips, then kindly subscribe to Ready To Be Rich. Thank you.
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Photos courtesy of beckfish and katehkateh
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Update:
This post is featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance #163 entitled Quotable Quotes. Please visit the link if you want to read more articles about personal finance.
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Welcome to my blog, Ready To Be Rich.
Hi, my name is Fitz and this is my blog.
hmmmmmmmm, thanks for sharing kuya fitz, thanks for stating the “impulse buying”, I frequently do this, hehehe
Hello Sir Fitz! This article is really helpful to me. I am planning to buy some clothes on pay day since I don’t really have much here in Manila and I have the tendency to buy clothes because its on sale, which i realized is actually wrong because majority of the clothes i bought from sale are not really the quality ones or there’s something wrong on the fitting.
Keep writing about helpful tips po
Another valuable tips, Fitz.
However, I cannot believe some people are buying new clothes monthly unless they are models. I do not have problems in buying clothes for myself for this is my least priority since I was raised in a very poor family. In fact, I do not remember the last time I bought one. But when I buy one, I do not look a the price but rather the style and quality. I also want simple but artistic design. I have been watchful of Joey de Leon and his T-shirts.
Medyo maporma ang lolo mo e lol! Minsan lang pumorma pero malupit! Lalo na nung time ni Richard Gomez at Bench. But that was quite a long time ago he! he! he!
@Gusher
One good cure for impulse buying, don’t carry credit cards when going to the mall.
@Micamyx
I’m glad you liked the article. Thanks. And by the way, ‘wag mo na akong tawaging “Sir”. Mashadong formal. Kahit “Fitz” lang, okay na. Hehe.
@Angel
I don’t buy clothes monthly either but I do have a budget for it which I carry over to the next month if I was not able to spend it. This allows me to purchase more expensive items without breaking my finances. Thanks for commenting and I hope to see you in full japorms when we see each other. Hehe.
hehhe, i do agree fitz, now when I go to mall to buy something i make sure that i only bring enough money for the item im going to buy, hhehe
clothing is one thing that i am ridiculously hard headed hehehe but at least i’m lucky because where i live in philly, directly across is one of the biggest outlet mall here. outlet: read: a lot of discounted items. we’ve seen a couple of pinoy movie stars like pops shopping here and of course another is reyna elena hehehe but for the most part, it’s tough to buy here full price when you could buy it for a sale price taz me discount pa. kasi naku pipirituhin ka by your friends if they find out!
Great article, as you mentioned above plain and simple clothing works just fine and I’m proud to save hundreds of dollars, by just buy simple clothes.
Here is an article you may enjoy.
Ways to make money online
Additional tip (my cousin does this):
For branded shirts that has stretched over time- find a cheap alteration shop to reduce the size. It should cost around 100 pesos or less.
do you have any suggestions where we can bring our old but still good clothes? wala kasi akong sasakyan and hindi ko na rin alam kung san pa maghahanap ng pagdodonate-an ko ng mga to. wish ko lang meron tayo ditong tipong Salvation Army na magpipickup ng stuff mo once you call them or Goodwill to ensure na mapapakinabangan pa rin ang gamit mo at a very low price.
@Gusher
I do exactly the same thing. Hehe.
@reynz
Outlet malls are indeed great places to shop for cheap clothing. I wish there was more of that here in the Philippines. For now, we just have to settle for the ukay-ukays.
@boy kuripot
Yes that’s a great tip! I did that a lot when I lost weight. Thanks for sharing that one.
@TWC
Why not hold a garage sale instead? Anyway, the church is always a good place to bring those clothes or donate them to charity organizations. Talk to them and let them pick up the clothes or just neatly stack them in boxes and load them to a cab.
Thanks for those infos. I’ve learned a lot…now I’m starting to put it to life and it relly feels good. Although it’s pretty hard for me this time to lessen all my stuffs expenses I’m sure it would be worth it. Thanks a lot…on Oct.25 expect me to be there…
Thanks for the tips. Personally, I’m not above keeping my eyes open at yard sales. This especially applies for my growing daughters who are surrounded by girls who will only wear Hollister, Abercrombie, etc. My kids are more grounded than this, but I’m able to get a few of these more expensive items into their wardrobes by taking the time to look for gently worn second hand.
nice advice po!
for me, one good advice to keep you clothes and not spending more is to stay in shape.
I never buy clothing at retail price. Always wait for sales and make sure I buy off-season when there are more discounts available. Saves about 50% from my clothing bill.
I’m a big fan of smac deal. You can always save for about 50% on regular price in SM malls. I find it better on buying during sale. Mejo limited nga lang ang feature items nila. But its worth the wait.. Every 3-4 days ata sila ngpapalit ng items. Like I bought my new shoes for only 800, orig price is 1700. POLO, orig price 1300, nakuha ko lang ng 800. 1000 worth children’s wear, 500 lang babayaran mo. Big savings.Big time.