A lot of men say that you need money to look good, thinking the difference between a stylish man and an unstylish man is the size of his bank account…
But what if I told you that you’re potentially wasting money on clothing that you’re already buying? I
In this article I’m going to share with you the 5 ways you could be wasting money on the clothing that you’re buying alongside showing you that you don’t need a lot of money to look good.
Money isn’t the be all and end all of looking good. Yes, the more money you have, of course the more luxuries you can buy but a lot of men who struggle to afford clothing actually spend more money on clothing in the long run.
I’ve been there before, I’ve made a lot of style mistakes and wasting money on bad choices was one of them.
So how can we save money?
How can we make our small budget stretch further?
1. You’re Not Spending Enough
This is surely going to confuse you, I’m recommending you spend more money on clothing to save money?
The fact of the matter is spending too little on badly made items of clothing will lead to more money being spent in the long run.
Let me explain…
I could go into a store and buy a button-down shirt for £20. It’s a bargain and that price and it’s something I can wear immediately.
At first I feel like I’ve saved money, but after a few wears, a few washes, that button-down shirt doesn’t look as good as it first did. Because of this, I hoard the shirt away in my wardrobe and don’t wear it or I’ll throw it away.
With that shirt taken care of I head back to the store and spend another £20 on another shirt.
The cycle continues over and over again and after 5-10 years I’ve actually ended up spending more money overall by buying a cheaper item in the first place.
This is extremely common with dress shoes. You could walk into a high street store today and pick up a cheap pair of leather dress shoes, but after 50-100 wears they’re not going to be wearable. You’ll then need to go and invest in another pair.
On the other hand, investing in a good pair of leather dress shoes (with a Goodyear welted sole) could mean they last for 10 years and beyond. My Grandad is 91 and he still wear some leather dress shoes that he bought when he was in his 40’s.
Spend a little bit more money upfront on quality and in the long run, you’ll save money.
2. You’re Buying Into A Label
Are you following the herd and spending more money on a logo rather than quality?
In a lot of cases you’ll end up spending a premium because of the brand name, rather than the quality of the garment.
There really is no benefit to overpaying for a designer label just because you want to show off. A logo doesn’t give you style. Instead make sure you focus on the construction and material of the garment to make sure it’s going to be worth the investment.
So don’t waste money on premium brands. Instead, invest in quality.
3. You’re Buying Clothing For The Wrong Reason
How many times have you gone out shopping for a night out?
I’ve done it, heading out last minute to buy an outfit for an evening out. The issue is when you buy clothing for this reason you’re likely to only wear it a few times and then shop again for something new.
What about shopping for clothes after pay day?
Or maybe to help make you feel better?
All of these reasons behind buying clothing is for short-term fulfilment and it’s going to lead to wasted money in the long run. You’ll buy something to feel good and then buy something to look for that feeling again and again.
Make sure that you’re buying clothing for the right reasons (reference point number 5) because if you’re not, you’re going to be mis-spending money and overloading your wardrobe.
4. You’re Religiously Following Trends
Before I explain this point, there’s no problem with you following trends…
I’m not saying just blend in with everyone else and don’t have your own style, if you like a trend feel free to wear it… But if you’re just following trend after trend after trend after trend, you’re going to be wasting money.
If one month the floral trend is in and you spend money on that trend after a few more months it’s not going to be ‘on trend’ anymore. You’ll stop wearing those floral items and hunt for the next trend, spending money on that too.
Instead of following trends invest in timeless pieces, items of clothing that are very versatile that you can wear over and over again. Then you might want to set aside a small budget for certain trend items that you can implement into your wardrobe.
5. You’re Shopping Without A Plan
This point is similar to point number 3, shopping without a long term goal in mind.
I go into more detail about this point in the Style Reinvention video series which can be watched below.
As men we very rarely go shopping without a plan, without a list of items we need. We go in blind, not knowing what we need and not knowing what we’re looking for.
When you go shopping next, make sure you’ve got a plan of what you need in your wardrobe.
Do you need a shirt? If so, what colour shirt do you need? When can you wear it? What other items of clothing in your wardrobe can it be worn with?
These are all questions you need to consider before buying a new item of clothing out of impulse.
You wouldn’t go Grocery shopping without a list, because there’s no point having too much food in the fridge. So why go clothes shopping without a list, leading to too many items of clothing in your wardrobe?
Plan ahead, question every purchase and you’ll buy less.
Don’t Waste Another Penny
So there we have it, 5 ways that you’re potentially wasting money on clothing.
Just because you have money it doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to become more stylish, in fact my whole style transformation was around a time when I had hardly any money at all!
Because of this, I created a blueprint that walks you through the 9 Style Steps so you can dress better for less.
It’s called the High Def Male Academy, and you can join it by clicking here or clicking the image below.
If you enjoyed this, let me know in the comments below and feel free to share some of your ‘money saving’ hacks.
If you think this will help someone, share the love and share it with them.
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