How Asking 6 Easy Questions Can Stretch Your Clothing Budget

How can you get the most for your money when buying your clothes? You'll need to consider the true cost of ownership just as you would when purchasing a car. Here are some questions to ask yourself before you buy.

How much does it cost?

At first glance, this question is obvious. In order to get a good deal of course you're going to buy on sale. But what, exactly, is a sale? Is a sale when the retailer says that it is a sale?

No.

A sale is 50% off the clearance price. That's a deal. You'll have to wait until the end of the season to make your purchases, but that's not so important because you'll ask yourself this next question.

How long can I wear this?

Buy items that you can wear three seasons. Good colors to choose are black, khaki, red and navy. Stay away from pastels. You can only wear light-colored clothes in the spring and summer. Following this simple rule will avoid having to buy a different wardrobe for each season.

Is this machine-washable?

What appears at first to be a deal can easily turn into a nightmare if you have to pay the recurring cost of dry cleaning. Make sure you can throw your purchase into the washing machine. A machine-washable item is also more likely to survive any stains. Easy care usually means long lasting and long wearing.

How many places can I wear this?

Buy items that are suitable for more than one occasion. For example, a black sheath dress can go to a black tie affair with a sparkly, sheer jacket or the office with a white blouse underneath.

Do I already have shoes to match?

Do you already have the necessary accessories? Buying shoes and the like will increase the final cost to wear of the item.

Will this need to be altered?

Alterations add to the cost of the item to own. Not to mention you'll have to worry about the time it takes to go to the alterations place, put it on, get the alterations made and take it back home. Buy what fits and what you can wear the next day.

Asking just a few of these questions before buying that next item can prevent your purchase from turning into a money pit. Now there's no reason why you can't be both chic and cheap.