This is a problem I've had since I was on benefits and now is particularly annoying.
I can't spend money on clothes.
I need new clothes - I haven't bought any for at least two years. Here's the kicker - I've lost weight since then and so when I do wear my gear, I look (& feel) how I was back then. But I can't buy anything my size.
Why?
Firstly, price for gear in my opinion is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE, even though I have the cash to spend it. A decent tee now costs anywhere around £15-30, while trousers and footwear are pushing £60 easily. That's simply far far too much for me to be comfortable buying.
Secondly, this isn't just a clothes issue. I won't pay more than £29.99 for any PS3 game; £19.99 for a Blu Ray or £10 for a CD. I've stopped buying magazines and now despise them, along with newspapers. Books - I'll only buy from charity shops, especially since a claim from my best mates uncle was proven true
(I bought three popular novels from Waterstones at RRP, only to be told that they'll be sold in charity shops for less than £2, a month ago on a trip to Weston I found all three in charity shops for a total of £5 - almost a sixth the price I paid for them at Boxing Day) and also shopping, I scrutinise each shopping receipt finding where we could saved or bought a decent deal.
Thirdly because I think that I'll either go back to how I was or I'll continue losing weight and so the new clothes will eventually become the baggy ones I'd like to throw out.
Online shopping is a hassle, I don't trust sizing charts and hate all models posing - especially those on AA. Instore shopping is paranoid central.
well now... I dunno how much of this'll be helpful as I live in the US not UK but... Have you considered second hand shops? They'd be much cheaper clothes and if you changed sizes (be it up or down) it wouldn't be too much to replace them again.
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Books from the library and clothes from the second hand shop? Any friends you could clothes swap with? Invest in a couple of basics that you can customise is another option.
There is a website where you can recycle/swap anything for free as long as you collect it and you get really good deals, but I'm afraid I can't remember what it's called.
do you have a primark near you? (assuming you're in the UK of course)
also, maybe learn how to alter your clothing? that's what I do, I have only bought about 3 items of clothing in 2 years, the rest I fix and alter when need be.
on the second point... all I could think while reading it was "you don't need ps3 games and CDs"... but maybe that's just me, I mean I won't even buy food half the time as the cost scares me lol.
on the shopping frnt are you any good at cooking? buying in ingredients and cooking from scratch is far cheaper than buying ready made stuff. Also if you live near any farms ou can do work for them for vegtables and stuff. Another thing I do is have "ready stedy cook parties2 where friends come round bringing an ingredient each and then I will cook for everyone using those ingredients, meaning that essentially I get a free meal and friends get a meal made for them - everybody wins :P
There is a website where you can recycle/swap anything for free as long as you collect it and you get really good deals, but I'm afraid I can't remember what it's called.
It's called Freecycle I think , you could Google that......:)
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freecycle is good, post a wanted thing and you just might get something nice =)
you say you go to charity shops to buy books, have you looked through the clothes there? Because there are often clothes in charity shops that are brand new with labels still on them for a fraction of the price. It's more effort to look and you won't have as much choice but if you really need clothes you can pick up some genuinely nice things for around £3. Bargain!
"this is the room where you don't have to be brave"
I use to volunteer in a charity shop and id say more than half still had the labels on.also if because i volunteered there i got so much off the price so its very cheap place to get your clothes
You dont have to buy expensive clothes, there are loads of places you can buy a top for like £4-10. Or charity shops, or even ebay. As for games and dvds buy second hand ones, go to cash convertors or buy off ebay and amazon or the preowned section in shops, i dont know how ofted you buy them tho.
"Its not how long a star shines, what is remembered is the brightness of the light"
If you can't afford brand name clothes then you don't buy brand name clothes.
Why would anyone rather walk around in brand names that make them look and feel horrible because they don't fit than non-brand names that look nice and feel good? its a no brainer.
"this is the room where you don't have to be brave"
I never said anything about clothes fitting better solely because of brand. The reason some clothes fit better than others is because in the last two years I've almost lost 3 stone (4 sizes) and so everything that was bought then, looks baggy, ridiculous even.
I only mentioned those brands, because that's where I'm looking for my gear at the moment, because some of there gear appeals to me. Such as this amazing tee from AA: http://store.americanapparel.co.uk/2001sa.html?cid=200
However, I'm not an idiot and I am not prepared to pay that amount for that tee, despite how much I would love to wear it.
When I go to Georges or Primark, I can't find anything that particularly appeals, whereas the stuff in AA etc. does. Brand comes nothing into it.
The problem is not finding a store to spend money in, it's the actual getting the wallet out that is. This applies to pretty much any luxury item I purchase, not just clothes, but buying gear is my number one priority purchase right now.
What about ebay? you can pick up second hand clothes for not that much. Even if it doesnt appeal its got to be better than nothing, but maybe if u set yourself a budget and a list of what you need so you dont overspend?
"Its not how long a star shines, what is remembered is the brightness of the light"
I never said anything about clothes fitting better solely because of brand. The reason some clothes fit better than others is because in the last two years I've almost lost 3 stone (4 sizes) and so everything that was bought then, looks baggy, ridiculous even.
I didn't say that either. What I'm saying is if you wear clothes that fit that are cheaper you will look much better than your current clothes (presumably brand names but thats irrelevant) that you look and feel rubbish in. So it's worth buying them not sulking about not being able to afford more expensive clothes. Face it, you can't afford it - not many of us can actually afford to buy brand name clothes/shoes/bags or new dvds/video games etc. you have to behave how your finances allow.
You're not going to get brand name clothes from freecycle really either so that's a waste of time. Why are you asking for our advice? Because you don't want to buy clothes anywhere else, you're not gonig to do what we suggest, you're just trying to moan about the fact you can't afford "luxury items". Well neither can I. I'm sorry your financial situation doesn't allow for you to buy AA t-shirts but I can't magic it so you can. I can tell you places you can get cheaper clothing but if you don't want that there's nothing I can do.
"this is the room where you don't have to be brave"
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