The Ultimate Guide to Shopping on a Budget

Hello friends!

Today, I’m going to be talking about something I have a love/hate relationship with, shopping. Now, I love fashion and developing my style, which means I tend to spend a lot of my money on clothes. Over the years, I’ve learned how to save a lot of money and how to be more ethical with my spendings. Especially as a young adult, most of us don’t have all the money in the world to be utilizing on clothes. So, today I’m going to show you my process of how I shop and save money!

1) Find the Item You Want

We’ve all entered our favorite store and seen that beautiful top we’ve always wanted. That is until you finally checked the price tag. Yikes. Is it really worth that much money? But, it’d look so cute to take pictures with and would pair nicely with everything! Well, don’t purchase it just yet! Take a picture of the shirt and move on to the next step! I’ll be taking this shirt from Brandy Melville as an example.

The dress

2) “Do I Really Need This?”

My grandma taught me this trick when I was little. Every time I wanted to purchase something with my Christmas money she would tell me that to think about it and then come back the next day. Though I found it annoying at the time, it taught me to ask myself if I really needed it. So before you began finding your item online, ask yourself these questions:

3) Explore Plato’s Closet, Depop, & Thrifting Stores

Before you purchase an item that might be pricy, always check the cheaper options. If the item you wanted was from a trendy store, it’s likely you’ll find it second-hand. Most basic tees and trendy pieces can be found cheaper on Depop, Poshmark, and Plato’s Closet. Depop & Poshmark are great second-hand selling apps that have great prices from popular stores. Plato’s Closet resembles thrift stores; however, it’s targeted towards young adults. Brands like Brandy Melville, Forever 21, and H&M can be found there.  Lastly, check thrift stores such as Goodwill or Salvation Army. It may take longer to find items, but you may come across some unique pieces!

4) If not, Check Cheaper Stores

Still haven’t found the item you wanted? Then it’s time to hit some cheaper stores! At the moment my favorite store has been Cotton On because it’s so affordable and decently sustainable in terms of fast fashion. However, other options are Forever 21, Discovery Clothing, Charlotte Russe, and H&M. Personally, I try my best to avoid these stores due to their lack of sustainability, labor wages and regulations, and cruelty-free products. However, they do have cheap clothing items that most young adults can afford.

Dress 1        Dress 2         Dress 3

5) Use Chrome Extension ‘Honey’

If you still haven’t found your item second-handed or for a cheaper price and you know you will wear this item a lot, then maybe it’s time to buy it. However, before you do, make sure that you can really afford it and won’t be in trouble if you do. When shopping for full price items, I like to save money last minute is by using the chrome extension Honey.

You’ve probably heard of this extension if you’ve been watching a lot of Youtube lately. It’s been sponsored by many influencers, but it works so well! This chrome extension finds you discounts and coupons so you don’t need to hunt down for them. They have saved me so much money when online shopping. Here’s my referral code if any of you are interested: joinhoney.com/ref/bpbnmbq

Well everyone, that’s it for today’s blog post! I apologize for my absence, I was on vacation for the last two weeks. If you have any more tips & tricks on how to save money on a budget please comment down below! I love talking to you guys and getting feedback. I’ll see you all very soon!

Gros Bisous,