Is buying clothing a bad thing when your on a fixed income ?

Of course it isn't. I work part time, 3 days a week for 7 hours a day and get roughly $897 a month. I have around $255 to come out every month automatically, and then I work out how much money I need for bus fare and lunch at work, so that's around another $36. My income isn't taxed.

That leaves me with enough money to spend on whatever I want. I like buying clothes, eating out, going places - I don't feel guilty for doing this. I'm enjoying myself before I get a more permanent job, have to pay full tax, rent, utilities and so on. Oh, and student debt - that'll be fun to pay off, if I ever do.

I do save money though. I'd feel bad if I spent it all on things that I don't need, but there's nothing wrong with buying a few things.

 

You shouldn't feel bad about buying yourself nice things, so what you spend a little money here and there! Isn't that what money is for? so enjoy it but don't go over board make sure you have enough money for necessary things, if all you have in your refrigerator is;
A jar of horse radish and a jar of mayonnaise then.....you should probably cut down on the spending cx

 

It depends. If you're buying a really expensive sweater from Zaks Fifth Avenue when you have no job...yeah, you might want to rethink that. A couple of polo shirts from Old Navy that are on sale and because your old shirts are too small and/or have faded? Of course, be my guest. You should buy stuff that's practical and that you'll use. Luxury really isn't a good idea if you have no money. That's why I don't shop at places like Lacoste. I have no income right now. Why would I drop $69 on a polo when I can go to Old Navy and get the same thing for $10? $59 for the crocodile logo? Please...:dry:

 

I have to buy clothes because they fall apart or dirty and become unacceptable to wear in public. So I would say it's acceptable as long as you are getting it as a necessity.

Clothing people forget is a necessity, especially if you live where there is harsh sun year round, or even more importantly if you live in the North where the weather is inhospitable to Human skin when outside, like where I live.

Canadians will agree, buying clothes isn't an option it's a must. So I wouldn't feel bad.

There is also the argument that North American's, and I guess some European countries, you are expected to wear clean clothes in public to be considered acceptable. Unless you are a labour worker going out in public with torn, dirty clothes, will get you labelled as a hobo basically.



If you are really strapped go to the Salvation Army, or a Thrift Shop, there is nothing wrong with Thrift Shops, I don't need to go because I won't spend more than $25 on Jeans or $15 on a shirt, so I can buy new clothes without needing to find bargains. But if you want brand name nice clothes that are expensive, go to a thrift shop, you'd be surprised.

I once bought a basically brand new puma sweater at the thrift shop in town because I was cold, I was hanging outside with my friends, and my house is in the middle of no where to get to it. It was $3.00. I threw it out after, but it was pretty nice and was surprised at the quality of clothing and prices.

So ya, being on a fixed income means resorting to ghetto things like Thrift Shops if clothing is that important to you. Otherwise, just buy clothes every once and a while.

It sucks being a slave to the dollar.

Did you know people buy clothes from thrift stores and sell them at just under retail price on Ebay. So if you've bought clothes online, it may have been from a thrift store and you basically got robbed.

 

Nothing wrong with that
It's your money
It's not like you are blowing all of it all the time
And even if u were
It's your money

 

Clothes are a necessity. Its ok to splurge sometimes.

 

There is nothing wrong with buying clothes. But if you feel bad for this, maybe its your mind telling you to start saving your money, or to go to events and spend it another way. Its one thing if you do not have alot of clothes, but its another if you have an abundance and do not need more. then you need to slow down.

 

Well in that case, why not? You have a job (as of now), and thus you can be pretty darn sure that you're going to get paid for that. If I make $10 an hour, then I can think to myself "hey, well...this is going to be worth two hours of work for me, is it worth it?".

 

You shouldn't feel guilty. You deserve to treat yourself to something nice everytime you get paid. It makes working a little better and it makes you want to go more.

 

It's okay if you can afford it. If money is tight, I wouldn't suggest that you buy expensive clothing. There are plenty of stores where you can buy good quality clothing for not that much money.

 

I would suggest discount stores or thrift shops but I'm a guy

 

You could cut down by cleaning your makeup/hair brushes instead of buying new ones. They can be washed and used for a lot longer than a few months. If you buy multipurpose products you'll also cut down on spending, like a face powder with foundation coverage instead of foundation and powder separately, or a mascara that has a built in thickener.

 

Obviously you should buy clothes/make up if you need to replace what you have etc, or I suppose there may be particular cases where you really want something. But I don't see the wisdom in systematically spending all of your disposable income.

Buy what you need, and try to avoid excessive materialism.

 

My own opinion is that once you have a workable wardrobe, it should last you a year or two without constant refreshing. I just went and bought about 7 new t shirts because my old ones have been holed by years of use and occasional bleaching. They were rough and faded. So I cut them up and use them as rags for working on the car or cleaning my guns, and I wear the best of the crappy ones to the junkyard so when I crawl around on the cars and engines I don't feel bad about getting nasty. My new ones I love to death, and they'll last me for a year for sure, if not 2 or 3. I will be getting some shorts or pants to go with them, most likely from the thrift shop. So I usually refurb my wardrobe every few years.

My sister buys new clothes CONSTANTLY. C O N S T A N T L Y! I don't see how she goes through so many clothes. She gets bored and gives the old clothes away. NOTHING wrong with them. I have used the same wallet for, I don't know, maybe 5 or 6 years. She has a new purse every few months. I don't understand it, and I never will so I stopped trying.

Now, make up is a different story. Mascara I know (I have very limited make up knowledge, sorry :c) you have to replace every month or 2 (?) because it eventually grows bacteria which will give you conjunctivitis at some point in time. I'd imagine those little foam applicator pencils with the little pad on the end wears out pretty quickly. I usually steal my sister's or my mom's blush brushes when they're thinking of throwing them away so I can clean them and use them to work on electronics or something.

So I can't see how somebody would need to buy clothes every paycheck, but I guess I could see how you might need makeup every few months. I'm a very simple person when it comes to this though.

 

Thrift stores are the best! I usually always donate my old clothing to goodwill or salvation army and then go buy more. I think it is crazy to spend 100 plus dollars are a pair of jeans or 40/50 dollars on a shirt.

 

I buy lots of clothing but I only buy it at a bargain price and I only buy stuff I'm going to use buying stuff your not going to use is a waste of money

 

It's definitely not a bad thing. You need to enjoy yourself every now and again. However, I'm the type of person that saves like crazy. Currently I'm paying off my student debts, paying rent on my house along with bills so I only have about £50 to myself by the time that's all been taken, which I usually just put straight in my savings account. I could really do with some clothes right now but as always I'll wait until the sales start!