You just came back from a shopping spree with your closest friend. You should be super stoked to show off your new apparel on campus, but can’t help but feel daunted by the receipt in your Zara shopping bag sitting in the corner of your room. Your friend has gone, and so has your money. The excitement has escaped, and reality slaps you in the face. “Did I really just spend $40 on a simple tee? On this budget?!” You feel horrible and all you want to do is go return your clothes to get your money back. It’s a cruddy situation that we’ve all been in.
Did we ever end up going back to the store to return the clothes? Probably not. We probably ended up talking ourselves in to liking our purchases… but end up throwing them into the abyss of our closets. Shh. Don’t tell anyone.
So how do you keep yourself from falling into these sticky situations? Lucky for you, after experiencing these shopping disasters, I have come up with a few tips and tricks to keep in mind for your next shopping spree! After all, shopping should be thearpeutic… not something that would drive you to seek therapy.
1. Know what you want (or need)
I can not tell you how many times I have gone out shopping with the intention of getting new sunglasses but came back home with three new shirts, and NO sunglasses. That whole trip was basically unnecessary! Those three shirts were not things I needed… they were luxurious extras (more like wastes of money let’s say “luxurious extras” to feel better about our life choices). Before you go out and splurge your money on what catches your eye, make sure you AT LEAST first find what you came for! You want that new watch? You better buy those RayBans first. Then see how much money you have left to spend on the extras.
That said, if you are just going on a leisurely shopping trip, it’s best to make note of what you already have in your closet. You might have a lust for lace, and no matter what, you’re going to want to buy the next lacey dress we see in the stores. But recognize that you already have 2 lace dresses. You like that basic pink shirt? Be your own best friend and remind yourself that half of your closet consists of pink tops.
2. Wait it out
Ever buy an item in the spur of the moment? Your friend is rushing you to leave the store and so you grab the semi-cute shirt you were debating about, and buy it anyway. You get home, and it’s just another regret.
So next time you’re looking at a skirt and aren’t sure it’s worth its listed price, put it on hold, go home, and sleep on it. If you wake up the next morning and wish you bought it, then you know you really want it. Then you can go back to the store and confidently trade your cash.
Don’t want to go all the way back? Check out other stores and see if they have something similar for a better price. That way, you are both getting a better deal and giving yourself time to see if the purchase is really worth it.
3. Ask yourself: “Am I Really Going to Wear it?”
First of all, did you even try it on to see if it looks good on you? Because you’re definitely not going to wear it if it’s tight in all the wrong places. So make sure you check yourself out before taking your wallet out.
Secondly, are you going to wear it often? Where to? Whenever I’m faced with the adversity of wanting to buy an adorable top from a more expensive store like Urban Outfitters or TopShop, I stop and make some nerdy mental calculations to myself. if the listed price for the top is $65, I think, “For $65, how many times am I going to wear this top? Am I going to wear it once, or 65 times to make each wear worth $1?”
If I realize that each wear is above $5, or it’s an item I would maybe only wear once or twice, I say “hell no” and close my online shopping tab or go check out the sales rack. Such is life in college.