Shopping Savvy

Daily I get frustrated by the frivolous purchases that some students (or low income buddies) make. Hoards of on-trend clothing from Primark; pieces that will only see the light of day for the week that they are fashionable, or will fall apart mid-twerk at the student union. I don't have a job, my income is solely from student loan. The only other income I have is anything I can tear myself away from and sell on eBay. I will be very open and say that I pay £400 a month for my flat in London, not including bills. I pretty much support myself fully, bar the time my (lovely, generous) boyfriend had to help me out financially because I worked for free for two months during the summer. Yet I have a wardrobe full to the brim (and I mean to the brim, plus three large drawers dedicated to yours truly) with amazing clothing. How, you ask? I think it's about time I share my shopping savvy with you!

1. Stop. Buying. Into. Trends. Buy things you love, things you adore, something that will stand the test of time. This doesn't necessarily mean a boring "staple" piece like a pair of black skinnies. Something that is really special and you will still love next year. It doesn't have to be "in style".

2. One quality item of clothing is better than a few cheaper items. I can't actually stress this enough. You might be able to get an entire outfit from Primark for under £50 but the life of those clothing is no more than 6 months. Buy one, great quality item that will take you through at least a few seasons. Even if you have to store it away for the summer and bring it back out when winter comes around.

3. Be careful with bargains. Just because it's "nice" and in the sale, doesn't mean you should buy it. A bargain can be tempting, but consider the life of the item. Personally, I tend to only buy things in the sale if I wanted it whilst it was full price, but didn't have the means. Shopping on websites like The Outnet is very handy because you will get a great designer, quality item for a fraction of the price.

4. eBay! eBay! eBay! I can spend hours traipsing eBay for my most coveted items. Where has this gotten me? Well I have a brand-new-with-tags Agent Provcateur set for £120 rather than £220, and a Moschino two-piece for £30... amongst other things. During the summer I pretty much accumulated an entire suitcase worth of summer clothing from eBay, paying no more than £10 for each item. And if you don't mind a knockoff, you can find fashions most wanted items for dirt cheap. I won't lie, it takes up a lot of time but utilise your Watch List and have the eBay app on your phone to bid at the last minute and grab that item you love.

5. Sample sales! I get very strange when in/around a sample sale. I find myself shaking and getting an immense adrenaline rush. Keep an eye out on Facebook and Twitter by following your favourite brands and if they post a sample sale, then go for it! Don't feel like you have to buy anything, but you will definitely find brand new items for a lot cheaper than retail. Some retailers have samples for sale on eBay too, so there's another reason to use it.

6. Be thrifty! I cannot count on all my fingers and toes how many times somebody has said "oh I like your ____. Where's it from?" and I have smugly replied, "charity shop/vintage!". The great thing about shopping secondhand is that not only is it cheap, but it means you have a unique piece. And you never know what brand names you might find in a charity shop - I now own a beautiful pink Vivienne Westwood dress bought from a charity shop! Car boot sales are also an amazing place to find great bargains, my current favourite is Battersea Car Boot.

7. Save up for something special. If you really want something that is pricey, you need to justify your spending by saving up. That means budgeting (I will get onto that more later). Say your item is a pair of shoes that cost £200, see how much money you can afford to put away monthly/weekly in order to pay for it. For example, you could save £20 a month and buy it in 10 months, or if you can, save up £50 a month and get it in 4 months, and so on.

8. Budget to accommodate your spending. I am quite careful with my spending, for one I follow all of the above, and secondly I take all my other spending into account. To save money, I do my weekly food shops in Morrison's which is cheap and decent quality. Our weekly shop for two people usually end up at around £35. We avoid buying stuff that we don't need, and rarely buy meat which can be costly. In addition to this, I shop for fruit and vegetables in my local market (Stratford Centre). Despite this, we eat really well and I have a few Good Food cookbooks that come in handy and have great recipes for cheap meals and student meals. I also buy things in bulk that I use a lot, for example I eat porridge every day so I buy a huge bag on Amazon and it lasts months. In order to spend on fashion, you need to be more clever about your living costs too.

9. If you're not sure about something, wait. Maybe it's too expensive, too frivolous. If I'm not sure about buying an item I will sleep on it. If I'm still thinking about it by the next morning then I know it's worth buying. If it's a one-off item, think about it logically and whether you will be disappointed that you didn't buy it after it's gone forever.

10. Most importantly - only buy what you can afford. There is no point buying a nice dress if you're going to be broke after it. There's no point being in debt just because you needed a pair of shoes! Rent, food and bills always come first. Prioritise your spending. It is horrible having to borrow off people or even worse taking out a loan. It's just not worth it! Also, family and friends come first. I wouldn't buy something huge for myself if I knew it was my mum/dad/brothers/boyfriend's birthday coming up and I wanted to get them something really great and maybe take them out for dinner and drinks. Giving is really rewarding too!