“Can I pick up anything while I’m out?” my brother-in-law kindly asks before walking the kids to school. Those eight simple words just might be one of the leading causes of tight budgets.
Think about your spending patterns. Do you spent too much or too often? How many times per week – no, per day! – do you pull out your wallet? And the most important question – how many of those purchases were planned?
Spending Too OFTEN
The joke’s on my brother-in-law, because unless Armande’s organic farm is open today, there’s nowhere he could just stop by on the way home. No quick coffee or muffin, no “we’re out of baking soda”, no blue-light specials in our rural neighborhood. Since moving to this area where almost every item in the store is more expensive, we’ve been saving heaps of money. We simply don’t have the opportunity to buy buy buy.
My family has also become hyper-conscious of the constant pressure to spend when in the city. Stores and billboards and restaurants are everywhere, calling for attention, beating down our budgetary defenses. The whole economy, media, and consumer culture is constructed to push us into spending – too much and too often. One local business association actually successfully lobbied to have traffic lights timed to make cars stop more often so that commuters would be more likely to notice and pull into the shops.
Planning Your Purchases
Back here in the country, instead of running to the store all the time, we have to plan. A full week of menu planning lets us know exactly what to shop for in one trip, reducing the opportunity for impulse buys. We also keep a list of needed supplies for crafts, house repairs, leisure, etc, so that when we do hit that thrift store or coop we again minimize the amount of unnecessary extra filler.
With the holiday season upon us, for most it’s the “Spend More!” time of year. But holidays don’t have to break the bank. Sometimes cutting back on the big budget items is just what is needed to help with the little extras. Here are five simple steps for making your budget a little tighter.
1: Pay Attention to How, When and Why You Shop
Learn all you can about coupons. Take an hour one night a week to clip the latest coupons and look at the weekly store circulars. Combining coupons with store sales can greatly increase your savings. When you find really good deals, go ahead and stockpile items that you use regularly. Even in my small house I have found room for boxes of tissues and deodorant I was able to purchase for next to nothing. As small as those cents seem at the time, they can really add up over the course of a year.
Only buy what you need, and only buy on sale. Watch for sales on big ticket items and search for online coupon codes when purchasing via the internet. A quick search on Google for the name of your item plus the word “sale,” “coupon codes,” or “free shipping codes,” can bring up several sites that list all of the most recent deals being offered by online retailers.
Carrie says: From Bruce Mau’s Manifesto, “Don’t be cool. Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.” And a practical shopping tip: buy three times as many tops as bottoms. Money tight? Get your eyebrows done, your eyes are the windows of your soul!
Danielle says: Tapered pants should be outlawed. NO ONE looks good in them. One size bigger is very often better. And…of course, having a Style Statement is the foundation of a great wardrobe.
Speaking of getting your eyebrows done, ever heard of “eyebrow threading”? Learn more about this ancient art form and watch Carrie getting hers done.
There’s nothing like the thrill of treasure hunting in thrift shops. With ten dollars in your wallet a few hours to spare; a vintage piece of luggage becomes your bedside table and a 1940’s wool boucle jacket is the twist you’ve been looking for in your wardrobe. How wonderful to be a conscious consumer where your pocket book, the environment and your personal style flourishes. Happy Treaure Hunting!
This season is the reason…for serious wardrobe planning.
Carrie says: Boots! Leather, knee high, don’t-care-how-much-they-cost boots. A plaid cape. Petit Bateau navy stripped t-shirt. Vintage floral dress. Foley and Corrina bag.
Danielle says: Luchesse cowboy boots with the high heel. Really wide leg jeans. A good sewer who can do up some simple tunic topics for me. And…regular massages so I feel great in my clothes.
