Have you ever nipped to the high-street for a new pair of shoes and came back with three outfits and a new dining set? Shopping is almost a sport in some people’s eyes, you can buy clothes and other product just because it’s a “good deal” or you might want it in the future. You can’t really say your saving money on a dress because it’s on sale if you never need it in the first place. Here are 6 easy/obvious tips to try next time you go shopping, you might already know them but it’s always good to have a reminder.
Plan
If you’re going out to buy fitness clothing, don’t come home with a new dress. Planning what you need and committing to it means you can avoid easier temptation to go off on a tangent need to spend even more. Good advice is to share your plan with whoever your shopping with, sometimes you need someone to pull you away from a good offer and put you back on the right path.
Check your Wardrobe First
Do you need another checked shirt? Or a new pair of gym joggers? An easy temptation is to buy a new piece of clothing for the simple fact that it’s new. If you’re thinking about going shopping, have a rummage around the wardrobe to see what you already have. It’s easy to forget about what you own if you have a select few outfits you’re currently wearing a lot, it might inspire you to bring some garments out of retirement.
Timing
To be a Savvy shopper you need to make your timing perfect, shopping for a product before the season hits will save you a lot of money. products are naturally cheaper to attract savvy shoppers and prices always inflate as big seasons hit. Summer is a renowned season to do this with clothing, shops will put all there summer clothing on sale in autumn/ winter to make room for the season suitable. Buying off season products you know you’ll love when it comes around again is a great tactic for saving money. When summer comes back round you have the good feeling of not needing to buy as much. Be careful not to go too edgy with you fashion picks off season though, you might like it now but by the time you’re ready to use them you might not want them anymore.
Discount Codes
For the online shoppers of the world discount codes are a must! Checking voucher sites before you commit to purchases is key to saving money online, people love sharing codes to use and the voucher sites offer all the relevant information to make the most of them. Sometimes the vouchers aren’t the greatest but there is a good feeling from getting free delivery on an order that was never given to you specifically.
An extra tip is using voucher sites to see which stores and websites have current sales on, sometimes Google advertising can overpower some sites ability to show these offers and voucher sites usually help to highlight everything.
Don’t Buy Something Because It’s Cheap
One of the biggest mistakes in the book is buying clothes for the sake of it being on sale. You’re only getting a discount if the particular product is something you originally wanted and its now conveniently cheaper now. The best way to avoid doing this is to only go into shops that is offer the items you’re looking for, if you go to all your favourite shops you’ll naturally find items to buy even if you don’t need them. Most people’s minds convince them to buy something because it’s cheap, fighting this urge will avoid you going home will 20 shopping bags full of clothes you didn’t really need.
Charity Shops and Bargain Sites
If you’ve planned what you need to buy, checking charity stores is giving yourself the chance to bag the ultimate bargain. Charity shops don’t consider brands and how stylish products are when they price things up, you could potentially buy something ‘like new’ for a very low price and help a charity out in the mix.
eBay is also an amazing source for a bargain if you know what you want you can hunt for it online and begin a bidding war. Be careful though, eBay is addictive and you could find yourself buying products for the win which ruins the premise of reading this article!
So, there are the 6 tips to try whilst shopping online or in store. For good measure, a seventh tip you can use on the high street: take cash with you and leave your bank card at home, the perfect way to force yourself into a budget, you’ll thank me later.
Richard Meadow is a freelance writer that focuses on fashion, shopping and sales techniques. He enjoys researching and identifying new styles and trends and writes about them daily. In his spare time, you can usually find his out with his camera around the city looking for new inspiration.
