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Wardrobe Disaster! How much should we spend on clothes?
ohhh, this is a favourite topic for most women.
I read this article from fatcat about how average women have around $8000 worth of unused and underused clothes.
http://www.fatcat.com.au/news/home/Savings+Tips/144_0.html
Dont be shocked. This figure is a cumulative amount of our spending habit for 6-8 years, not one year.
While it is a good wake up call, i think the article is a bit skewed towards promoting image consultancy services.
It is already horrible that we spend that much money on clothes, so why do we even aggravate the situation by paying someone 120-280 per hour to shop around with us while all we need is an honest friend? Isn't it defeating the purpose of saving money?
In most cases, the value of clothing we buy will be reduced by about 50% as soon as we walk out of shop (unless if you are a serial-returner). And we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of our time.
Most of our purchases are motivated by emotion and fashion magz have invented a more sophisticated excuse for justifying a $1500 spree on a Burberry trench coat. It is called "Investment Purchase".(I dont know what dictionary they use but the last time i check, investment activity expects monetary return in the end, NOT compounded credit card interests.) They even snatch another economy term of cost averaging which is converted to the Vogue's "theory of cost-per-wear-basis".
These people should win a noble prize in economy for keeping the global economy running while making females feel good about stacking up credit card debts.
This is what happen when a bunch of smart women try to rationalise bad money decision (but feel oh so right) by taking bonafide theories and take them out of context then make it "sound right".
Now, the question is, how do you mitigate your clothes spending habit?
Does it work?
(as for me, in the past few years, i have reduced my shopping frequency from once a week to once in 2-3 months. i learned to take the joy out of shopping :) All i buy monthly is a fashion magazine of 8 bucks and enjoy the fashion vicariously. I read and re-read it until i'm sick of looking at clothes :) and it worked!!)
I read this article from fatcat about how average women have around $8000 worth of unused and underused clothes.
http://www.fatcat.com.au/news/home/Savings+Tips/144_0.html
Dont be shocked. This figure is a cumulative amount of our spending habit for 6-8 years, not one year.
While it is a good wake up call, i think the article is a bit skewed towards promoting image consultancy services.
It is already horrible that we spend that much money on clothes, so why do we even aggravate the situation by paying someone 120-280 per hour to shop around with us while all we need is an honest friend? Isn't it defeating the purpose of saving money?
In most cases, the value of clothing we buy will be reduced by about 50% as soon as we walk out of shop (unless if you are a serial-returner). And we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of our time.
Most of our purchases are motivated by emotion and fashion magz have invented a more sophisticated excuse for justifying a $1500 spree on a Burberry trench coat. It is called "Investment Purchase".(I dont know what dictionary they use but the last time i check, investment activity expects monetary return in the end, NOT compounded credit card interests.) They even snatch another economy term of cost averaging which is converted to the Vogue's "theory of cost-per-wear-basis".
These people should win a noble prize in economy for keeping the global economy running while making females feel good about stacking up credit card debts.
This is what happen when a bunch of smart women try to rationalise bad money decision (but feel oh so right) by taking bonafide theories and take them out of context then make it "sound right".
Now, the question is, how do you mitigate your clothes spending habit?
Does it work?
(as for me, in the past few years, i have reduced my shopping frequency from once a week to once in 2-3 months. i learned to take the joy out of shopping :) All i buy monthly is a fashion magazine of 8 bucks and enjoy the fashion vicariously. I read and re-read it until i'm sick of looking at clothes :) and it worked!!)
Views: 5
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bandwidth on -
Hello Bytta
I am no expert in women's clothes but I have a life partner and have 30 and a 32 year old daughters so i can relate to the shopping urge.
Some of the things I taught my girls
Clearly define and decide the difference between needs and wants
An investment must be an appreciating asset that you purchase and sell purely for the return
Anything purchased with emotion should not be justified as an "investment decision"
Decide how much of your earning is capital and how much is income eg 15% of all earnings is capital at point of earning.
Using the above decision, capital is for investment purpose only income is for spending so no buying trench coats with capital money. BTW I am not allowed to buy a Plasma tv with capital either. Any income left after all the needs are purchased can be spent on wants
Also with the above in mind the question we ask ourselves is not "can we afford this" but "are we spending capital money on this". Because we can always afford it by putting it on the card
Interest on any non business expense should be seen as rent, over and above the purchase price, so a $1500.00 coat at credit card interest is costing $320.00 per year, over and above the initial cost
Above all the rich invest then spend the poor spend then invest.
Yes I have been called "stingy", at some stage or other, by all the women in my life but when they look at their bank balance they say they are glad I was. In fact stingy is the mildest I have been named :-)
My girls purchase their major items out of season and minor "dress up" fashion items in season as required.
The clothing industry like any "fashionable" industry eg cars, computers, tvs etc relies on churn "turnover" to make the bucks so marketing, seducing, manipulating etc the punters is the name of the game.
BTW I like dressy comfortable clothes for myself and appreciate seeing my girls elegantly dressed.
For what it is worth that is a male view
I know very logical, rather than emotional :-)
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Permalink Reply by Mary M on -
Marketing is so refined these days that we are all manipulated more than we think. The tell us how we think & feel and what we want and need. We just hand over the money.
Bandwidth, your wife and daughters are lucky to have someone level-headed like you around (although they probably didn't think it at the time - I can imagine the arguments you would have had!!).
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Permalink Reply by Bandwidth on
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With marketing, most people blame others for what is happening to the world. When we do this we are abdicating our responsibilites Marketing relies on this by convincing us to do things because "everyone who matters" is doing it.
We can choose to be manipulated or we can choose what we need and want
I remember this statement. "what other people think of me is none of my business"
I prefer to call them heated discussions
The main point was that unless they could convince me to sign on the dotted line then it was a mute argument. The onus of proof was on them
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