Good news: You don't have to sacrifice style just to pay your electric bill. Kathryn Finney, a.k.a. the Budget Fashionista, is the expert on all things chic and cheap. Now she opens up her Prada bag of shopping and style tips to make you fashionably frugal, with change to spare!
Pagination
- 1
- 2
Visit our forums to chat about fashion, beauty and shopping with other ELLE Canada readers!
Budget Fashionista Tip #1: Buy What You Love and Love What You Buy
Repeat this tip to yourself before you enter a store, while trying on clothes in the dressing room, and while waiting at the cash register at your favourite store. Feel empowered to say no to useless trends, stand-alone pieces, and overpriced designer items that make you look anything but your absolute best. Approach shopping like you would approach a marriage. Would you marry a person you just "liked"?
Budget Fashionista Tip #2: Keep the Receipts
Save all tags and receipts for at least two weeks after you purchase an item. Go to your local Office Max or Staples and purchase a coupon or bill folder. Number each tab in the folder according to the days of the month and place your receipts in the folder at least three days before the last day to exchange or return the item.
Budget Fashionista Tip #3: The Savers Rule
Here is a little-known fact: The more you save, the more and longer you will be able to spend. Budget fashionistas must save at least as much as they spend on clothes per month. For example, if you have $250 after paying all of your expenses, at least $125 of it should go into your savings account. Deposit the other $125 into a completely separate interest-bearing chequing our savings account with its own debit card and cheques, to be used specifically for shopping. That way you will be able to keep track of the money you spend on clothes.
Budget Fashionista Tip #4: Purchase a Gift Card
In order to track spending, purchase a Visa or American Express gift card (available online at www.visa.com, www.americanexpress.com, or at your local bank) to manage your shopping expenses. Just bring this gift card with you when you go shopping. Once the money is gone from the gift card, it is time to stop shopping. Many stores have implemented the gift card format for gift certificates, and I also find them particularly helpful for managing expenses. The cards are refillable, so you can add more funds when you are ready to go shopping again.
Budget Fashionista Tip #5: Call It an Estate Sale
If you are selling a large amount of high-quality jewellery and vintage furniture in good condition, calling your sale an estate sale will increase the number of customers and the amount you can charge for your items.
Excerpted from How to be a Budget Fashionista: The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less by Kathryn Finney. Copyright 2006 by Kathryn Finney. Published by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House of Canada. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Page 1 of 2
