3.25.2012

5 Tips for a Shopaholic


This is a picture of a Shopaholic.

It seems like spring is the season to shop! There are a ton of sales and you can get a whole spring/summer wardrobe. The mall is a dangerous place! I have been to the local mall 4 weekends in a row now! I can stay away! I LOVE all the new spring and summer clothes that are out! It's bad! SO bad that I actually got a job a t the mall now! (American Eagle)But who can resist the %40 off employee discount! That's how addicted I am to new clothes. It's sad. This will happen again in the fall...I just know it. I am a true shopaholic. Now when people think of that label they think "Oh, she empty's her account out on clothes she will never wear." NOT TRUE! You can be a shopaholic and still save money. Just be smart about it. Here are some tips to survive the change of seasons.

1. Never pay full price! This is a motto my whole family uses. Through a combination of coupons and sales used on the right days you can get like 4 items for the price of one.
Real life example: Rue 21, sale on body con skirts, buy one get one for a dollar plus I used a $5 dollar off coupon, got 2 skirts for $12!

2. Get store cards. A lot of people think that these are a bad idea because they are basically like a credit card. The pros, you can only use it at that store! So that limits you on they things you can put on that card opposed to a regular credit card. However you have to treat it like a debit card! Once you buy something with it, act like you don't have that money in your checking account anymore and pay it off as soon as you can! The good thing about a store card tho is once you hit a certain spending level, you actually really do start to save money because of the reward point.
Real life example: Victoria Secret, I own a store card to this place and for the first month owning it I do admit I had to pay full price on somethings. But soon after that I started racking up reward points, I never spend more than $25 dollars in that store now and I'll get like $60 worth! Great example, because of my reward points, I got 2 , $25 off your purchase cards, used both of them on a $70 Cardinals Jacket! Best purchase ever :)

3. What ever the dollar amount is of the item, think to your self, is that how many times your going to wear it? If something is $40 are you going to wear it 40 times? That would make it $1 a wear, and if you wear it more that 40 times, you'll be saving money, this is called an investment. However the less you wear it, the more expensive that piece is per wear. Wear it 10 times = $4 a wear. Only wear it twice = $20 a wear. Get the picture? It's easy to calculate, just take (P) Price divied by (W) how many times you think your going to wear it and that will give (I) The investment level or "price per wear". P/W = I

4. If you aren't sure about an item, wait to buy it. If you pull something from the rack just because it pretty and you aren't really sure what you would wear it with or if you even would wear it at all, just wait and come back to it. I do this all the time. If I don't instantly fall in love with a piece of clothing then more than %50 of the time I put it back and think about it. Sometimes I take a picture and go back home and see what I would wear it with. If I can come up with 3+ outfits, then it a winner. Then I'll go back, TRY IT ON, and then if it looks good, I'll buy it. Using the P/W = I formula though. If they don't have it in your size when you go back or don't have it at all, then it just wasn't meant to be and move on. Chances are the same item will turn up on a sale rack a few months later.

5. I can not stress this enough to my friends when we go shopping, TRY STUFF ON! Don't buy just because it is "pretty" or "cute". Defiantly don't estimate your size either! Just because you a are a 2 at Forever21 doesn't mean your a 2 and American Eagle!You don't want to be a victim of trying it on a t home and it not fitting, because if it dosen't fit, your not going to wear it. And if the mall is 40 mins away from where you live, like me, then chance are you aren't going to return it within the next 30 days. Unless you are a extreme shopaholic, like me, and go to the mall every weekend! :) If you don't feel like trying on that day then make it a "just looking" day. If you plan on trying stuff on, wear a easy-to-slip off shirt and some loose jeans, NOT BAGGY and not supper tight, just loose so your not taking 20 mins in a dress room just to get your clothes off.

Hope these Tips Help!
Stay Stylish ;)
-Heather

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