5 Tips on Saving Money Buying Clothes

Since F.I.R.E. (Financial Independent Retire Early), I now spend very little on clothing. When working, you are somewhat required to dress your part in society. Being my own boss, I still dressed my part but more casual wearing mostly jeans and polo’s to work. Today, I enjoy wearing more casual and fitness related clothing. They are durable, last forever and are super comfortable! Oddly, I consider this a luxury. Don’t get me wrong, I still dress the part depending on the occasions.

Have you noticed how much clothes you have in your closets that you haven’t worn for years? You know it’s highly unlikely you will never wear them again, yet you can’t seem to throw them away? Many of us are probably guilty buying clothing we wear once or twice to never wearing them again. This is one area where many of us will benefit financially if we were more mindful of our resources. Clothing can be expensive!

Last year, I donated over 12 large trash bags of clothing to de-clutter my life. Many were clothing rarely worn and practically new. It’s an odd human reaction that many struggle when letting material things go. I’ve seen many friends and family with the same problems with hoarding. I’m guilty as well and wonder if this trait came from my past living in poverty.

I found myself happier having less material things underutilized. Living efficient brings a huge sense of satisfaction in my life. Being wasteful bothers me and makes me uneasy inside. Even while running my business, I felt no different. It was a constant mission looking for better solutions that would boost productivity and ways to operate more efficiently. Which often brought benefits to the bottom line but more importantly a huge sense of satisfaction.

Clothing Expenses: Before and After FIRE

Before FIRE: $844 (2010-2015)

The amount is annualized average spending. Some years I spent more some less but the 6 year average came out to $844. After some quick research online, the average American household spends around $1800 per year on apparel and services. I’m assuming that figure is for a family of at least 3 to 4. If so, that would have me slightly higher per person on spending in the category. I did purchase some gifts as well so perhaps I was in line with the averages.

After FIRE: $82 (2015-2018)

One great benefit of being FIRE is definitely not having to dress the part every day. You can wear all the casual clothing that you purchased that rarely got worn. The only clothing purchased were some fitness runners and shirts for myself and gift for my family. That only came out to $82 using some shopping hacks.

Realistically, I may have enough clothing to last me the next 10 years to be honest with you. It’s surprising how long clothing lasts. Some you wish it tore a hole so you can throw them out but good quality clothes seem to last forever.

5 Tips on Saving Money Buying Clothes

1. Stick to the classics. Many classic designs and fashion will far outlast fast fashion. You will likely wear them more often as well.

2. Shop discount retailers. Check out stores like Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, Kohl’s, or even Costco. They have amazing deals on brand name products at discount prices.

3. Don’t buy something you don’t love. Stick to buying only what you love so you actually wear them. Always ask yourself before purchasing, “Do I really love this?”. If the answer is not an absolute yes, do not buy.

4. Time your shopping. Buy when retailers go on sale or on major holidays. Often you will save upwards of 40-60% off when shopping during promotions. If you’re like me and wear a size that often are sold out, you must act fast to get your colors and size. Utilize alerts on sites listed below.

5. The 3 for 1 rule. Set yourself rules for when and how you buy clothes. Especially if you have too much clothing and you are looking to reduce your clutter. For every 3 articles of clothing you throw away, you purchase one. Setting rules such as this will help provide a systematic guideline to follow that is proven for many to be far more effective.

Shop Smarter Online

I rarely buy anything for retail price anymore. In some ways, I shop for clothes similarly to the way I shop for stocks. Here are some methods I utilize to maximize my savings.

1. Set alerts, and wait on products you need using sites such as Slickdeals, Dealnews, and Camelcamelcamel.

2. Use and maximize credit card Cashback Rewards. Many credit cards such as the Chase Freedom, Amex Bluecash, and Wells Fargo Rewards, offer additional cashback using their website portal. Sign into your accounts to check if they offer any promotional cashback deals for the retailers you frequent. Maximize the amount of cash back you can earn by using sites like Cashbackmonitor.com, Honey, Wikibuy.

3. Utilize discounted Gift cards from websites such as Swagbucks, Giftcardgranny, Raise.com. If you have a retailer you frequent, purchase discounted gift cards and use them in combination with promo codes, sales or with other coupons. You can also set alerts for gift cards out of stock to be notified when they become available.

Conclusion

Every dollar counts when every dollar has it’s own mission. Some may say a few dollars here and a few saved there doesn’t mean much but that type of mentality is probably what adds to the fact that 60% of Americans do not have $1000 dollars for unexpected expenses. There are countless evidence in data that clearly show we are huge consumers in this country.

Live like everyone else and expect the same or similar outcomes as everyone else. Every decision will have a compounding effect in the long term.

I hope some of these tips are helpful in your pursuit of financial independence. I believe relentless and aggressive saving and investing are the only way to reach financial independence. Save more, invest more. Thank you for reading.