How do I stop myself from buying new clothes all the time?

[Sebastian Melmoth]

My current approach is to make deals with myself.
For example, my current deal is that I will not buy anything for the next month.
Then I can get a shirt and tie, after which I will not buy anything until the post christmas sales, at which point, I may get a suit. (I have a one suit per year limit now)

Part of what makes it work is being sure that the items I buy as a reward for my discipline are really nice!

 

[Coburn]

Originally Posted by acecow

It's getting out of hand. How do I stop spending money on clothing? How do you (if at all) battle this addiction?

I noticed that I became less acquisitive after I began posting pictures on the WAYWRN thread.

I discovered that a lot of clothes that look good in showrooms or even in my mirror look bad in the wild.

After two years of reading SF, I've become so picky that I dislike almost everything I see in retail outlets.

Almost daily this forum has photographs of bespoke tailoring, shoes, accessories. With that kind of quality as a bench mark standard, most lesser clothes seem disappointing. I've become self conscious of deficiencies that I was oblivious too a few years ago.

That has the effect of restraining my spending.

But, on another note, since you do appear to be in the grip of an addiction to clothes purchasing, I have a pair of AE Spectators you might like -- 9.5 C.

Make me an offer!

 

[NewYorkIslander]

1. Cut up credit cards
2. Have two kids

Worked for me, well...er...

 

[GoldenTribe]

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

2. Have two kids

So you're still "buying clothes all the time" -- you just don't get to wear any of them!

 

[Metlin]

Get a cocaine or crack addiction. That way, you'd be way too high to care about clothes, and way to broke to pay for them.

 

[SpooPoker]

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

1. Cut up credit cards
2. Have two kids

Worked for me, well...er...

But you sell your things too...

speaking of which, your C&J shells would fit me perfectly....

 

[gladhands]

My wife and I have one "tax month" per quarter. For every dollar spent on clothing/shoes, two dollars must be added to joint savings from the spender's personal account.

Even in non-tax months, there's a 150% fine for paying full retail.

 

[bcbg]

This:

Originally Posted by w.o.e.is.me.

arguably, if you're properly budgeting for investments/savings/bills, etc then you probably won't have THAT much money to throw around on casual wants. and if you do...throw some of that my way

Focus on savings with equal zeal as you do clothing. Savings are just consumption deferred so it isn't as remotely related an idea as you might imagine. Spend time studying your savings rate, your money going into the 401k and what you will have to spend in retirement with various projections of returns, and then balance your consumption now with what you imagine you might want/need at 60 or 70. Do you want to travel three months of the year? Eat cat food for dinner or instead go to three star restaurants? Your savings rate when you are younger will determine much of this.

Now save what you need and you can spend the remainder on the things you care about. For me that means travel to Europe, Hawaii, and elsewhere several times a year, fine clothing in limited quantities, and some excellent food at every turn.

 

[westinghouse]

Cut up your credit cards and go find a woman.

 

[w.o.e.is.me.]

Originally Posted by gladhands

My wife and I have one "tax month" per quarter. For every dollar spent on clothing/shoes, two dollars must be added to joint savings from the spender's personal account.

Even in non-tax months, there's a 150% fine for paying full retail.

goddamn. that's what i call a tight ship!
my condolences.

 

[Master-Classter]

too lazy to read all the responses.

If you're serious, then here's my advice. It's very simple. Stop going to places where you're going to buy things. I simply don't walk into clothing stores anymore, because chances are, I'm going to find something and buy it. After all, isn't that why i'm there? The whole environment is designed to make me want to buy things. The same applies to SF in general and the B&S section in particular. Either quit the forum for a while and go back to normal life, or at the least simple avoid the B&S section.

Another idea, which I do strictly, is take a good inventory of what you have right now and what you're really like to have. Start narrowing down that list to only the most important things. Set price points, be specific, and when something you like comes up, if it's not on the list, PASS. Just ignore it and move on. You simply don't need it.

 

[MyOtherLife]

Switch to buying gold. It'll never lose its value and no matter how much you spend on it,
you'll probably make money if you ever want to sell. Now if only I could follow my own advice.

 

[Nathaniel72]

Read the book titled Affluenza

 

[kohelet]

Spend, spend, spend, your heart out.

Some people have a food or drug addiction. Atleast clothing doesn't digest and swirl around in a sewer system, nor does it get you in jail for 15 years. Count your blessings.

 

[Hannes]

For me, getting married to someone who is more careful with money has helped ... At least a little. I also think it's about setting your priorities straight. Try to think about it from a greater perspective. Is there nothing else that matters more in the long run -- providing economical stability for your (future) family, or even being able to help others in need, etc. For us mere mortals, the future is always uncertain, and while I do not discourage spending money on nice clothes if you have the means to, there are other things that are vastly more important than being the best dressed iGent at Style Forum.