What did you have to cut back on because of your clothing purchases

[NORE]

Wow. I quit smoking and bought my first car, a BMW. Just had extra money for no reason.

 

[EnglishLapel]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

I buy few and better so it hasnt really impacted my other spending. I do however prefer to live without too many frivolous expenses. I'd rather invite everyone over than go to the bar and I'd rather cook at home than go out.

This is not the Bateman way Skinny! I'm sure you could go to Texarkana.

 

[Nicola]

Originally Posted by Vintage Gent

[*]Instead of paying $100 a month for membership at the local Racquet Club (where I only used the treadmills anyway), I run in the neighborhood, on the Seawall or at the city-sponsored Rec Center.

I figure two years of gym membership would pay for a new squat rack and a set of olympic weights. If only I would get around to cleaning out the store room

After two years it's all free. Same thing for many other things. Buy don't rent /lease. Buy better so I don't need to replace it all the time.

 

[fwiffo]

Frivolous electronic gadgets (yeah, I can use another netbook sitting in the den, or a super duper iPod/iPhone dock in the bathroom). I also stopped buying knick knacks that loiter around home. I found 100% of those budgets went to clothing.

Savings rate is still not as good as before though.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

My girlfriend complimented me the other night on how I don't spend money on a lot of novelty things and only spending on purchases that I love. She is right, small things add up over time. I never buy things just being they are on sale, or a good deal. If I wasn't there to get it in the first place it is not worth it. That goes with clothes too. If I am out and I see a cool shirt and want it, I don't let myself get it because that will just be on top of all the custom ones I get. Or it will be a snazzy tie that sits on my rack while the tried and true 4 ties I wear get their use.

I also don't go out much socially during the week except for certain exceptions. Going out is expensive and my work week is more productive when I am alert and well slept, which is a big benefit in the long run finanically. The weekends are a different story.

I don't go out to restaurants all the time, and I eat quick inexpensive meals during the week as work and doing my own laundry and ironing takes up time and gives my mind a rest.

I am young at 25, unmarried, with no kids, which is less costly. My girlfriend is a very wise person financially despite not making a ton of money. She is very low maintenance as far as material things are concerned, which I am lucky for.

Edit: Raralith made me remember, I don't have cable TV, or any fancy channels. I do have netflix, as I watch movies, but never television shows. I know people who spend hundreds a month on television. I don't know what they are thinking, or where they get the time.

A big move I made recently is I bought my own place. I rented for over two years and felt that that was wasteful. Mortgage payments are larger, but with the write-offs it puts more money in my pocket while building some wealth, which is a good move financially for the future.

 

[Raralith]

Well, I cut back in other purchases because my wife and I have no more room in our apartment since it's jam packed with everything we wanted. My cigars (a good 500+), bar (100+ bottles), and aftermarket car parts (for drag racing, autocross, track events) have basically stopped since I am done with those so that money was reallocated into clothing. The wife and I are beginning to be more frugal though as we plan to start a family so as some others have mentioned:
- We eat out less and cook at home more, I bring lunch to work instead of buying
- I rarely dry clean now as we launder our shirts at home and my wife irons them
- I dropped my gym membership and run at a local park instead
- We stopped going to the driving range at the local golf course ($9/bucket * 2 buckets * 3 times a week * 50 weeks = $2,700!!!!) which I didn't realize was so much
- I try to drive more conseratively as I use to get 10 mpg, driving a lot better and netting about 20 mpg

I'm debating on whether we should keep at&t U-Verse which is basically cable for $100/month. The wife mainly watches TV but a lot of that is movies which is replaced by Netflix, and Chinese soap operas which can only be found online.

 

[NORE]

Move old stuff out, new stuff in. That's how I roll.

 

[changy]

Originally Posted by trader

i cut back on my child's medicine. looking for cheap chinese alternatives now

The chinese alternative can get pretty expensive

Caterpiller Fungus-
Low quality stock is going for $7000 USD a kilo, $20K for the better stuff

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by changy

The chinese alternative can get pretty expensive

Caterpiller Fungus-
Low quality stock is going for $7000 USD a kilo, $20K for the better stuff

Ok, that has to win best avatar award.

 

[ljrcustom]

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

I don't spend money on a lot of novelty things and only spending on purchases that I love. I never buy things just being they are on sale, or a good deal. If I wasn't there to get it in the first place it is not worth it. That goes with clothes too. If I am out and I see a cool shirt and want it, I don't let myself get it because that will just be on top of all the custom ones I get. Or it will be a snazzy tie that sits on my rack while the tried and true 4 ties I wear get their use.


This is a practice that I have tried to adopt over the past year. Everyday I get better at it. The best thing about being smarter shopper, is that I no longer end up looking in my closet and saying to myself, why the hell did ever buy that...

-LR

 

[MTLGuy]

Originally Posted by ljrcustom

This is a practice that I have tried to adopt over the past year. Everyday I get better at it. The best thing about being smarter shopper, is that I no longer end up looking in my closet and saying to myself, why the hell did ever buy that...

-LR

+1

Quality over quantity. Do that long enough and eventually you'll have a large quantity of quality stuff.

 

[SpooPoker]

Originally Posted by MTLGuy

+1

Quality over quantity. Do that long enough and eventually you'll have a large quantity of stuff to sell on B&S

FTFY

 

[harry2quinn]

Rent.

Saving to buy an apartment anyway, I talked myself into getting a 250-sqft studio for $400 less than a 1-BR, channeling that extra to clothing. This way, saving about a third of my income anyway.

According to Mint.com, of my disposable income in the last 6 months, I've spent 30% on rent + food, 15% on clothes, 15% on a vacation to Europe 10% on odds and ends.

 

[binge]

More clothing purchases.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Originally Posted by EnglishLapel

This is not the Bateman way Skinny! I'm sure you could go to Texarkana.

Touche'.