How do you budget purchases? - Topic of the day 12/1/23
Do you set along a couple dollars a month or buy whatever catches your eye? How do you budget your clothing purchases?
35 Replies
badly
I save links to clothes and buy them whenever there's a sale. While I'm waiting for sales, I prune my list. I also occasionally dig through thriftstores. I very rarely buy something without a discount, but it's probably going to be a basic garment that I need.
Usually concentrated in end of season sales - bulk purchasing hurts a bit less because at least I don't feel like I'm constantly chipping away at my budget.
I still budget based on vibes, but I can go a couple months with no purchases, some months I spend $1k-$1.5k. I look at finances on a weekly basis, and if I'm feeling like I'm not making good progress for where I want to be in that regard, I'll reel back a bit
i try to do a mix of buying things i can resell and buy again with the money made for stuff im interested in, but recently ive been really really bad with my money. in my head its like, sale season doesnt last long so i can save during the off months, but during the off months ive been buying a lot from used markets. overall i dont have much ive been keeping an eye on so need to control myself
think i just mainly need to find a less expensive hobby cause i just check sites on my offtime
Waiting on price reductions with <2 items remaining is an extreme sport
I simply sell an old shirt on ebay for $10 so that I can justify buying a shirt on ebay for $100
I try to think how much I’ve spent in the last month and sort of balance it out through the year. Rocket Money app helps
I irresponsibly buy the thing that provides the dopamine in the current moment
I save money by being extremely picky.
I track all my expenses in a spreadsheet and have been following a budget since I graduated college in 2018. I have categories for fixed expenses such as the gym, groceries, etc, but then have a “guilt free” category that I use for clothes, going out, sports tickets, anything at all. Helps me to be sure I’m hitting my savings/investing goals, but also doing the things I enjoy
I use YNAB and have a "fun" category for clothes, drinks, eating lunch out, etc. It's actually pretty great because it prevents me from spending money on other things because I want to use that money on clothes
Major jinx, holy hell lol
Of course two of the DC people both post about their extremely type A budgeting at the same time lol
i started a spreadsheet but always break it cause the thing i want suddenly goes on sale or theres 1 item left. maybe itll help if i did it anyways but keep track of the negatives too so it can balance itself out in the future months
Lowballing on grailed is how I save money. I usually wait a while before making a purchase on grailed so I have time to save up. If it sells before I can save up then it was never meant to be
If I’m shopping in person than I’m swiping card because money isn’t real
I put in nasty offers on ebay and grailed
I tend to call in love with pieces which does irreparable damage to my budgeting
However I don’t have that much closet space in college and it’s basically full atm so right now they’re budgeting for me
Gotta wait until the first since rent is due
Start around three days before
That’s the window
I budget everything except clothes it's too 
on the secondhand market theres fomo, if you don't snag the insane deals asap someone else will
I've been doing equal exchange for a while now, only buying things with the money from selling. So far it's been good
on the secondhand market theres fomo, if you don't snag the insane deals asap someone else will
I've been doing equal exchange for a while now, only buying things with the money from selling. So far it's been goodI've been doing similar this year, except I also did a massive clearout and wardrobe overhaul. So I've sold about 70 items, and bought about 70 items, I've spent the proceeds + around £700
So I see it as a £10 upgrade per item 😎
Where I've upgraded from, like, a Topman sweater to a 2nd-hand Drake's shetland, and that sort of thing. It's been fun!
That's really impressive
You get one of these 
haha, sounds about right. The money is down but shareholder satisfaction is at an all-time high!
A few ways:
1. I keep track of a weekly "budget" I put aside for clothing as part of my closet spreadsheet. Right now it's $0 because I'm saving for other things. Anything I sell goes to this budget as well.
2. Though I trawl ebay/grailed/others daily, I only purchase really insane deals right away. Weekly I'll review my likes and make offers on the ones that still interest me. My price point is relatively low so lots of stuff is not accepted, I'm completely fine with that.
3. I try hard to ensure I'm not spending money even though it's a "deal". Though I have started flipping the crazy deals I see.
For what it's worth, I've missed out on some really great items, but I've also managed to build a pretty ridiculous wardrobe at a fraction of the price.
i just have an overall shopping budget each month
that sometimes i decide to absolutely violate
just tech things
Try to limit myself to just one "big" over 100 purchase per paycheque. having a small closet helps keep that budget because to get something new I typically have to get rid of something else to make space for it.
But in my head anything second hand or thrifted is free and takes up no space. Thats what typically destroys my budget and closet space most times
This is my shopping strat. “I can spend this much this month”
“Oh look a coat”
For stuff on eBay under about $50, I don't sweat it. That's most of what I'm buying right now. I've been meaning to add up how much I've spent on clothing this year, but I have been lazy. For bigger purchases, I think about it more, and at least mention it to my wife to see if she thinks I'm crazy. I like to think I'll reach the point where I'm super picky and looking for very specific pieces, but I think that's a while off. I'm also starting to run out of room in my closet. Sweaters are bulky!
Impulse + vibes = to the line of credit
i have a decent job and have done okay for myself over the years so im at a point in my life where i dont really need to budget for things. that being said, lately i have been trying to limit the amount of impulse purchases i make
I have a moodboard where I keep pictures of things im interested in and review it regularly, if the desire doesn't pass after a while I just get it for myself.
its prevented lots of impulse purchases (I still make mostly impulse purchases)
I have a set ‘reasonable amount’ in my brain that’s a static figure and as long as I don’t exceed that, I’m good. That figure resets every time I get paid.
I usually focus on one or two items of clothing that I want: at the moment I need some sort of jacket. Then I save $20-30 a week for it until I have enough money to buy one.
i said this at this time last year and it aged terribly
