Money is and will always be one of the major student life problems. Like everyone else you want to do your fair bit of shopping but you also feel guilty for going over budget. Tricky situation to be in…I know! Well, as someone who enjoys the recreational activity of shopping telling myself ‘I will not buy anything because I cannot afford it!’ was always a lie. Instead I found a way of putting shopping into my monthly budget without feeling guilty. You can do it too with these budget shopping tips.
Work out how much you can allow yourself to spend each month. That will be your monthly budget i.e. you cannot spend more than that, for instance mine used to be £30. It is important that every month you do not spend more than this amount. If there are particular items that you’ve got your eyes on but cost more than your budget don’t spend anything that month. The next month add the budget of two or more months together to make your special purchase. This part is well self-discipline comes in but it is a well worth skill to own.
My budget was £30 pounds. I’m guessing that yours will not be much more than that either. With only a specific amount of money to spend the concept of ‘need’ should be more important than ‘want’. There were surely be a lot of stuff you want, but not that much that you need. Look into your wardrobe and see what it lacks…make a note of items that you always find yourself needing to complete your outfits. These items should be your shopping list. This will mean that you will use what you will buy and in the long run feel less guilty about your purchases.
There are several reasons why to use online stores. The first is that you will always be given the total price before confirming your order. In other words you can never have the excuse of not being aware of how much you are spending to justify any over budget purchases. Believe me, you will fill your cart and you will go over budget but you will feel instantly feel guilty and end up deleting a bunch of stuff from your cart. The second reason for using online stores is that you can easily compare similar items from different store and ultimately buy the cheapest leaving more money to spend. This is a handy feature as most shops have similar items at different prices. Of course there are different online stores that fall on different price ranges so it’s best to use ones that are ‘Student Budget Friendly’. If you want more guidance on this read Yasmin Blackwell’s post, The Best Online Retailers For Buying Outfits On A Student Budget.
This is where your list comes handy. Using online stores can be tempting because you will have a detailed view of every item in store. To avoid this temptation search directly for the items you’ve got on your list. You will never have to compromise yourself again.
Yes I said it; ‘Don’t buy statement pieces!’ It’s a tough one however, statement pieces tend to be more expensive. Additionally, from experience, statement pieces are never worn that often especially if you’re constantly with the same people as in uni or college. Buying items that can be styled and accessorised differently to make several unique outfits makes your monthly purchases even more worth it.
I hope you find these budget shopping tips useful.
