Your clothes never seem to last long. They’re wearable for a season or two, and then, they need replacing. You’re exhausted by this short life-cycle of your clothes, and your wallet is certainly not handling the costs of replacements well, either. Are there ways that you can stop wasting so much money on clothing?
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Stop Depending on Fast Fashion
It sounds counterintuitive to stop depending on fast fashion to save money on clothes. After all, fast fashion is often cheap in comparison to other clothing options.
Fast fashion items may cost less when you first buy them, but they’re not meant to last long. The fabric is often cheap, and the construction is often poor. The garment won’t stand up to too much use (or even machine washing) without accumulating wear and tear. It’ll fall apart, and you’ll need to replace it very soon. And if you replace it with a similar fast fashion item, the vicious cycle will begin again.
Focus on longevity with your clothing. Pick items that are well-made, even if they aren’t as cheap as the ones in fast fashion stores.
Ignore the Trend Cycles
Fast fashion often promotes short trend cycles. Trendy clothes are designed to be replaced, even when they don’t fall apart. So, you could buy an on-trend garment one month and realize that it’s out of style in the next. Pick items that suit your personal style — not the latest trend. This will save you money in the long run.
Fight the Urge to Spend Emotionally
Do you find that you go on shopping sprees when you’re emotional? Like, when you’re stressed about your job or you’re bored at home? All of a sudden, you find yourself hitting a crowded shopping mall or browsing your favorite online retailer and filling up your shopping cart.
The habit of emotional spending could put you in a tough financial space. You could realize once your dopamine rush is done and you’ve finished buying clothes that you’ve spent well beyond your means. You could have high balances on your credit cards. You could have barely anything left in your checking account and only tumbleweeds rolling around in your savings account. This is not a financial space that you’ll want to be in.
For instance, if you drain all of your savings, you might not have enough money available to handle an emergency expense that falls into your lap before payday. In this case, you don’t need to panic completely — there are still quick and easy options for handling emergency expenses, even when you don’t have enough savings on hand. You could apply for a personal loan online, as long as you meet all of the required qualifications. If your loan gets approved, you can use the funds to resolve the problem in a short amount of time.
Online loans are only meant for emergencies. They should not be used for non-essential expenses, like new clothes.
Emotional spending can be really risky. So, when you’re feeling emotional, don’t pull out your wallet and expand your wardrobe. Find a better coping mechanism that won’t damage your finances. Some good coping mechanisms are going out for a walk, calling up a friend or listening to relaxing music.
Wash Clothes Properly
You don’t check the laundry tags on your garments. You throw all of your dirty clothes together into the washing machine and run it on a basic cycle. This isn’t the best plan. When you don’t follow the washing instructions for your clothes, they won’t last as long. The wrong setting on your washer and dryer could shrink clothes so that they’re too snug, fade colors so that they no longer stand out or even rip delicate fabrics. If you want to keep your clothes looking immaculate, learn the laundry tag symbols and follow them strictly.
These are some other clothes-washing tips that will help your clothes last:
- Unbutton buttons on clothing before putting them in the wash.
- Zip up zippers on clothing before putting them in the wash.
- Empty pockets to make sure there is nothing inside that can damage the items or the machines, like coins, pens or sticks of gum.
- Turn graphic t-shirts and sweaters inside out to stop the graphics from fading or flaking.
You can’t afford to be buying clothes this often. So, follow these tips to cut down your wasteful shopping habits and to help your current wardrobe last.
