Confession: I'm a Bargain Shopper
In my teaser yesterday, I was going to say "Shopping on a Budget," but I decided against it because being on a budget and being a bargain shopper are not necessarily one-and-the same. It's not always about a lack of money, but rather lack of wanting to spend too much money on something.
Example)
• Shopper A has a $150 wardrobe budget for the month. She sees a pair of Rich & Skinny jeans that she falls in love with and buys them for ~$144 including taxes. She stayed within budget. She only bought one thing, but she stayed within budget.
• Shopper B is a bargain shopper with a $150 wardrobe budget for the month. She sees the same Rich & Skinny jeans which she thinks are smashing but isn't sure that she wants to spend the $$ for them. She sees a rounder of camis at 2/$15 nearby and realizes how practical and feminine they are. She walks over and picks out two versatile colors: black and cream. She sees multiple styles of cardigans on sale for $24 (where is this girl shopping?) one table over, so she picks out two boyfriend cardis in fun but not too daring colors; charcoal and camel. She starts to walk away but realizes how crazy good this price is so she turns around and picks out a subtle jewel-button cardi in pale yellow, then grabs a turquoise one to add some kick to her neutral picks. Lastly, she picks up a cream/sage floral one. She stayed within budget--spent the same amount as Shopper A--and got two camis and five cardis.
• Shopper C is a shopper with no particular budget and somewhat deep pockets, but is a bargain shopper. She sees the jeans as Shopper A is holding them up and decides to check them out for herself. Someone had told her to try skinny jeans. These were the pair! She sees the camis, grabs one in blush which completes her full array of cami colors and realizes the price is for two so grabs a basic black. She also sees the cardigans and chooses an assymetrical heather gray one with floral appliqués on one side. She has spent more than both A and B but got a whole outfit and purchased bargain and not-so-bargain items.
(Sorry for the long examples. It was sure fun spending others' $$ though fictional)
Of course there also exist Shoppers D, E, Q, etc. However, from these examples I would resemble Shopper B most except I don't have a $150 monthly wardrobe budget. I have lots of clothes, not because I make lots of money but because I stretch my money lots. I will buy five items I 'like enough' instead of the one thing that I really, absolutely want. Is that smart and practical? Or just keeps me in want?
I'm trying not always to buy things on sale just because they're on sale because then I just end up with what was the best for less. I might end up spending more because I found such great deals and the items just multiply. I justify it because of the volume of my purchase. I have to remember it's not always quantity, but quality. Then again, if I succeeded at this sooner, I might not have gotten these finds.
I picked out my outfit today based on my idea for today's post.
I wouldn't usually choose white to go with this but it's what I had. I usually would have worn my favorite pair of Söfft strappy heels which are called brown but have a burgundy undertone (see yesterday's post) and would match perfectly. But, I'm trying to get away from being too matchy matchy (future post), and I had just worn them two days in-a-row (another future post?). So, I wore these goldish/champagne extra strappy Söfft heels and matched my earrings with them. Go figure.
Tomorrow: Blog Week One done, am I qualified to do this?
Example)
• Shopper A has a $150 wardrobe budget for the month. She sees a pair of Rich & Skinny jeans that she falls in love with and buys them for ~$144 including taxes. She stayed within budget. She only bought one thing, but she stayed within budget.
• Shopper B is a bargain shopper with a $150 wardrobe budget for the month. She sees the same Rich & Skinny jeans which she thinks are smashing but isn't sure that she wants to spend the $$ for them. She sees a rounder of camis at 2/$15 nearby and realizes how practical and feminine they are. She walks over and picks out two versatile colors: black and cream. She sees multiple styles of cardigans on sale for $24 (where is this girl shopping?) one table over, so she picks out two boyfriend cardis in fun but not too daring colors; charcoal and camel. She starts to walk away but realizes how crazy good this price is so she turns around and picks out a subtle jewel-button cardi in pale yellow, then grabs a turquoise one to add some kick to her neutral picks. Lastly, she picks up a cream/sage floral one. She stayed within budget--spent the same amount as Shopper A--and got two camis and five cardis.
• Shopper C is a shopper with no particular budget and somewhat deep pockets, but is a bargain shopper. She sees the jeans as Shopper A is holding them up and decides to check them out for herself. Someone had told her to try skinny jeans. These were the pair! She sees the camis, grabs one in blush which completes her full array of cami colors and realizes the price is for two so grabs a basic black. She also sees the cardigans and chooses an assymetrical heather gray one with floral appliqués on one side. She has spent more than both A and B but got a whole outfit and purchased bargain and not-so-bargain items.
(Sorry for the long examples. It was sure fun spending others' $$ though fictional)
Of course there also exist Shoppers D, E, Q, etc. However, from these examples I would resemble Shopper B most except I don't have a $150 monthly wardrobe budget. I have lots of clothes, not because I make lots of money but because I stretch my money lots. I will buy five items I 'like enough' instead of the one thing that I really, absolutely want. Is that smart and practical? Or just keeps me in want?
I'm trying not always to buy things on sale just because they're on sale because then I just end up with what was the best for less. I might end up spending more because I found such great deals and the items just multiply. I justify it because of the volume of my purchase. I have to remember it's not always quantity, but quality. Then again, if I succeeded at this sooner, I might not have gotten these finds.
I picked out my outfit today based on my idea for today's post.
 |
| Dress: Under $10 Was having a bad skin day |
 |
| Open-front cardigan: Under $10 Bandage on neck: pennies |
I wouldn't usually choose white to go with this but it's what I had. I usually would have worn my favorite pair of Söfft strappy heels which are called brown but have a burgundy undertone (see yesterday's post) and would match perfectly. But, I'm trying to get away from being too matchy matchy (future post), and I had just worn them two days in-a-row (another future post?). So, I wore these goldish/champagne extra strappy Söfft heels and matched my earrings with them. Go figure.
Tomorrow: Blog Week One done, am I qualified to do this?
Cute! And I love the bandage. Great touch. Much better than the curling iron burn i was sporting a few weeks ago.
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