As a newlywed recovering from wedding expenses and wanting to buy a house soon, my shopping habits, I realized, were in need of a makeover if I wanted to save up some money. But the truth was I didn’t want to stop shopping, I didn’t want to get behind on the trends, and I didn’t want to pass up that perfect dress. And after chatting with the hubs about it, he introduced me to a life-altering idea: MAKE A CLOTHING BUDGET.
“What do you mean?” I said when he proposed this foreign concept, which had never before entered my mind.
“Go shopping, buy your dresses. You want wedges—have at it—frolic if you want, but once you spend your allotted monthly budget, that’s it. Until next month where that beautiful cycle can start again, my beautiful wife.” He said to me as he sipped a glass of rosé.
“Hmmm,” I thought. “That doesn’t seem too hard. It’s the best of both worlds really. I can do that,” I said as I looked up in the air smiling at the gods who had given me this man.
A couple of months have passed since that adorable little dialogue happened, and I have learned some amazing tips for abiding to my budget and still looking on point.
Updating accessories are easy and cheap!!
I love belts and scarves and have been having the best time using these fun accessories in unexpected ways. I’ve been rocking the turban and head wrap look with my scarves—not only does it save me from a bad hair day, it updates any look instantly!
Look, I even accessorized my wedding dress with this beautiful headband (of course on sale) from Anthropologie.
Online coupons are a must!
Before I worked at ShopAtHome.com, an online coupon site, I never knew there was such a thing as cash back when you shopped online. I knew you could find coupons out there on the interweb, but cash back was a secret treasure I discovered that has changed my life.
Cash back is like getting paid for shopping. ShopAtHome.com is partnered with thousands of merchants—GAP, J. Crew, Sephora, Target, you name it—to offer a percentage of cash back for the purchases you make.
Me, my budget, and my hubs are happy about this one!
As an avid online shopper, free shipping is key!
Stores like ASOS, Nordstrom, Shopbop, Piperlime, and Zappos have free shipping and free returns, so I start there. Free returns are a necessity because it gives me the peace of mind knowing that if I don’t like something I bought online, I can just package that baby up and send it back to where it came from.
The budget is going well, and honestly, my closet and creativity within my wardrobe has never been better. Until we meet again, happy shopping, happy savings!
–Kelly O’Connell Heneberry, the Content Ambassador at ShopAtHome.com, now lives in Denver, Colorado after stopovers in Berkeley, Los Angeles, and New York. While she has discovered cute clothes at shops across the country, her closet currently contains nothing to wear. Luckily, she has most likely found three perfect, new dresses at various online retailers, which are now in her shopping cart.
so pretty!
Congrats! Such an exciting time for you. These are all great points and Ideas.