Savings

How to Reduce the Cost of Clothing

We all have to wear clothes. Whether just for modesty or to keep warm, cool or dry we will always need some. However, they can be really expensive. If we are trying to save up money, repay a loan or simple trying to make it easier to make ends meet, then finding a cheaper source of clothing can be really handy. Luckily there are lots of things that you could try which might reduce the amount of money that you spend on clothing.

Find free clothing

You may be able to find free clothing if you are lucky and want to completely eliminate the cost of clothes. If you look at local social media sites then you may find that there are people giving things away if you can collect them. You might find all sorts of interesting things available and clothing might be one of them. It is good to just keep an eye out as you never know what might appear.

Buy second hand

Buying second hand items is very often cheaper than buying them new. This is not always the case though and so it is important to make sure that you do compare prices and make sure that you really are saving money. Make sure that you look at the quality of the item though as you want to make sure that it is something that will last if you are intending on wearing it a lot. It can be tempting to think that because it is cheaper, this does not matter, but it is wise to still be careful about things like this so that you definitely get good value from the items that you are buying.

Wear out the clothing you have

Often we will buy new clothes before we have worn out other clothing that we have. This can be for a variety of reasons, but it is wise to try to wear those out before buying new. If you cannot fit into the clothes, perhaps they are too big or too small, then look for tips online as to how to alter them. It might be that you can expand waistlines using special tricks or that you can pull them in. If you are bored with them, then you might be able to change them or repurpose them if you are handy. If not then why not try swapping them with your friends and family, seeing if they would want anything of yours in swap for theirs. You might even be able to find some clothes swapping evenings that you can go to where you can take clothing and pick up other things in swap for them. You might even find that if you get all of your clothes out that you find things that you decide you like but you went off for a while that you would be happy to wear again.

Look for sales

Buying in the sales is always a risk. It can be very tempting to buy more than we actually need just because it looks like a good price. Therefore, you have to be really careful when you are shopping like this and make sure that you only buy things that you really need. It can be good to restrict yourself to a budget and a list and to perhaps even only take cash to spend so that you cannot spend more than you can afford. Going with a friend or family member can also be handy, if they are the type of person that will steer you away from making purchases that you do not need or cannot afford. Make sure that you take the right sort of person though; not someone that will encourage you to spend even more!

Set a budget

If you know that you will need new clothing or will want to, then it can be wise to set yourself a budget for spending on clothes. You should be able to calculate how much you can afford by looking at your bank statements. See how much you normally have available each month and this is what you can afford to spend on luxuries such as clothing. If you have nothing left, then look at how much you normally spend on clothing and think about whether you should reduce that to leave room for other spending. There may be other places that you can cut down though which could help free up some money to buy clothing. Once you have established how much you can afford to spend on a monthly basis you will need to note it down. It is important to make sure that you are always of aware of this so that you do not overspend. You might want to change the budget so that it is a certain amount a week to allow you to spend more often or so that you only buy something every few months, so that you have more money available to spend. It is up to you how you do it, you will be best sorting it out so that it works for you and the way that you normally spend money on clothing.

Budgeting

Ways to Keep the Cost of Gardening Down

Many people love their gardens and making their gardens look good. However, the costs of gardening can be quite high and sometimes it can really add up. If you are struggling to cover the costs or need a loan to pay for everything then it is worth thinking through what you are doing to see whether there are any areas where you are able to save money.

Make your own compost

Many people will buy bags of compost, but it is possible to make your own. However, just putting all your weeds, old plants and grass cuttings in a pile may not be enough. It is important to learn how to compost items properly. You may have to aerate them, have the right humidity and heat to get everything to break down properly. You may also find that there are certain plants and items that should not really be put in them. It is good to do some research and make sure that you are doing things properly so that you have success with it and are able to use the compost for your pots, hanging baskets and vegetable patch and save some money.

Collect seeds and cuttings

Many people will buy seeds and plants each season. It can be fun choosing new things and adding different colours to your garden. However, if you often find that you buy the same plants, then it could be worth collecting seeds or cuttings from the plants that you buy so that you can grow them yourself. It can be very satisfying knowing that you have grown something yourself from scratch as well.

Reuse pots

Many people will buy pots for when they are growing seeds or cuttings. This can be expensive and there is no need to keep buying them over and over again. You could reuse pots once you buy them or you may be able to find things that you could use around the house. Perhaps things that you would normally recycle like yogurt pots or margarine tubs would be useful to use. If you do not have things like this then ask friends and family or ask on facebook groups or places like freecycle to see if you can get some.

Shop around

If you are buying plants and other garden equipment make sure that you shop around. Garden centres can be really expensive and you will find that nurseries tend to be cheaper. You might find that checking prices online, on the websites belonging to the places that you are visiting, will help you to see which will be cheaper before you leave home. You might even find that seeds and cuttings can be exchanged with other gardeners. If you find local groups either online or not, you might be able to meet up with other people that want what you have but have things that you want. It can be a nice way to socialise and share tips as well.

Buy plants that last

To save you all the hassle of growing plants at all you can always buy more mature plants. These are much more expensive than seeds or small plants though. However, they can be a really good investment if you buy hardy plants that will not die off over the winter. This means that they will last all of the time and you will not have to pay out to replace them. They may change in appearance perhaps, change the colour of their leaves or lose their leaves, but they will not normally die when the weather gets colder.

Make the garden smaller

If your expense is a gardener then making the garden smaller can be a help. You might pave some areas or put in some decking so that you do not have so much lawn to cut. Putting gravel or lawn over boarders and beds can lead to less work as well. It can be hard doing this, as you may love the way that your garden is. However, try to make the most of the new features that you put in and also concentrate on making the parts you can see through your windows the prettiest. Even if you do not have a gardener reducing the amount of grass and beds could help to keep the costs down anyway as you will not have to buy so many plants or so much fertiliser and things like this. It might be easier for you to make it more manageable anyway. There will be an outlay to start with for the materials, but you will make savings as you do not need to buy so many things in the future.

Grow things that save you money

It might be that you can grow things that save you buying so many items. For example, if you grow vegetables or fruit then you can enjoy the harvest and you will not have to buy so many yourself. It might take a few years of growing them and learning about the right conditions etc to get the best crop but it could end up saving you money. With flowers you could do the same thing. If you like having cut flowers or pot plants in the house then you could grow those types of plants so that you do not need to buy them.