Thrifty Clothes Shoppers & what you can learn

Reason #8 as to why you are not rich is…… You don’t understand value!!

Value is not always the cheap item – and it is not always the most expensive item. When you buy something high in value it gives you your money’s worth before the item is no longer usable.

I had a friend in college who always teased me and another friend because we tended to buy name brand clothes (she bought at Walmart). One night she became frustrated with us because she felt we were wasting money. We all sat down and went over our clothing budgets.

The girl who bought all of her clothes at walmart spent $100-$200 a month. She had very little in her wardrobe that was over a year old. The washing routine would cause the colors to wash out and many of her pants had holes after only a few months. She did have a lot though – for that price she would get around 15 new pieces a month.

The girl who bought all name brand bought twice a year, but still had items in her wardrobe that were from the beginning of high school and they looked great. She would go through her clothes at the start of the season, take out items that were out of style and give them away and she would buy a few new pieces. She spent $500-$600 every 6 months and only bought 7-8 pieces.

I buy almost all name brand, but I wasn’t as concerned with the trends. At the end of each season I would buy for the next season. I would spend $100-$200 every 6 months. I was not as good at getting rid of clothes, however so my closet was generally overflowing often with things I no longer wore.

So what lesson did we learn?

The “cheaper” clothes were worth less value. She was spending $1200-$2400 a year. She did have the newest and largest wardrobe, but it never lasted which meant she had to buy even more.

The expensive clothes lasted a long time. She was spending $1000-$1200 a year and was by far the trendiest of us three. The first girl was surprised to see that she was spending less. Clothes that could be used through the trends (staple items) could continue to be used for years – some items in her closet were 8 or 9 years old!

I was in between the two. I was spending only $200-$400 a year, but I had way too much in my closet. I learned that I could take a lesson from both. Some things are worth more if I am going to wear them often, and others are not even worth the sale price if they just sit in my closet forever.

Reason #9 that you are still poor is Your House is Too Big!